This Is My Chance
by Ace12
Summary: Sometimes you need to breakaway to show that you can do it; that you can make it own your own. Sometimes you need to seize the day and take your chance. That's what Mitchie is going to do and she's going to prove to everyone what she's made of.
1. This Is My Chance

_**A/N: I know, I know, I know. I'm putting off writing Runaway To Find A Home but I can't help it. I keep having this brilliant, at least I think they are, ideas and they won't fit into RTFAH so I have to write them up in a new story and then I want to see what you guys think of them. Sorry.**_

_**Anyway this is "This Is My Chance" and it came to me from having Shinedown's "Second Chance" on repeat for the last two days straight. I adore this band and song and I think everyone will eventually relate to the song sometime during their life. This chapter is just an introduction where you meet a Ella and Mitchie and you find out a tiny bit of what previously happened and let up to this point but that's it really. But don't worry; I swear the Grey Brothers will be in the next chapter and Caitlyn and Brown will also be coming in soon so if you're looking for Smitchie or something you'll have to wait for the next chapter but it'll be worth the wait I swear. This story is quite...personal to me so I hope you like reading it and please let me know what you think. Thank you.  
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_**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters associated with Camp Rock or "The Little Engine That Could." The song "Second Chance" is by Shinedown as mentioned earlier so it's obviously not mine and neither is Lave Records. Enjoy :)  
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**"Tell my mother, tell my father  
I've done the best I can  
To make them realise  
This is my life  
I hope they understand  
I'm not angry, I'm just saying  
Sometimes goodbye is a second chance**

**Here is my chance  
This is my chance..."**

_I could do this. I mean; I know it's going to be hard as hell, but I can do this. If I was a children's story character I'd be The Little Engine That Could. I am going to do this and I'm going to prove them all wrong; prove that I can make it over that big 'ole hill and that I won't need their help._

I pushed the sealed letter into the tiny gap between the mirror and its frame before hitching my duffel bag further up on my shoulder. I pulled out the handle of my luggage bag and quietly rolled it down the hallway; grateful that my parents had managed to splurge on one thing in our "perfect little world" that was of some use to me.

Once I was outside I pulled my winter coat closer to my body before locking the front door behind me as even though I was leaving I still wanted my family to be safe. I quickly dropped my bags in front of the next door neighbour's house before running back to my own and pushing my keys into the mail slot. With a sad smile I turned one final time away from their house and gathered up my bags before hopping into the taxi that I had called up earlier.

'Where to?' the driver asked grumpily whilst glaring at me in the review mirror.

_Can't blame him; I think if I had to work the one in the morning shift then I'd be pretty damn angry too._

'Um…this address,' I said as I leaned forward and handed him the torn bit of paper that held the address to the place I would be calling home from now on; though truthfully I had always felt better off there than I did at my parent's mansion.

'You sure this is the address love?' the man questioned as he pulled away from the curb.

'Yup; that's the address alright,' I confirmed as I began picking at the skin around my nails.

_Don't look back. That's the worst thing you can possibly do. If you're gonna do this you want no regrets and we know if you peep then you'll get out. You can do this; you've dreamed of this for four years now – it's your time. It's time to break away from them and start anew. This is the start of your new life; no go backs._

_---_

'Mitchie!' a teary voice cried out into the night's sky as I got out of the car after paying the cab driver.

'Oh my gosh Ella! I've missed you!' I squealed as the girl's body collided with mine and we hugged each other tightly.

'It's been too long Mitts; I didn't believe you were really going to come when you told me. No offence but I thought it was gonna be like…' she trailed off awkwardly as she untangled herself from me.

'No; I know what you mean. I almost didn't believe I was really going to do this myself – I almost didn't; but the thing is I have and I'm here,' I said as I walked over to the trunk and pulled out my bags.

'That's it? That's all you brought?' Ella asked sceptically whilst eyeing my bags.

'I had to make a _quiet_ escape Ells; I couldn't exactly pack my whole room.'

'But what about all of your stuff? You know; your toys and photos and all the special child-like things I know you love so much.'

'I loved them Ella but they weren't mine – I know what you're going to say,' I said quickly when Ella opened her mouth to object, 'my parents _gave_ them to me I know…but if I'm going to start life the way _I _want to then I don't want anything to do with them. It's just me and the stuff I managed to buy with the few dollars I slaved for from Barney's.'

'Okay; gosh it's freezing – so didn't notice,' Ella said suddenly noticing the weather as she took my black luggage bag from me, 'let's get inside; the fires going and you can tell me more about what's going on.'

I gave a short nod before pulling my collar closer to my neck as I followed Ella into the building that held her apartment. We rode the elevator in silence and when we finally reached number 34 it felt like all my past, everything that I wanted to forget, washed away from me when the warmth from inside washed over me.

'I don't know how you did it Ells,' I said in awe as we sat on her couch with hot cocoa in our mugs after dumping all my stuff in the spare room which Ella declared as mine.

'What do you mean?' Ella asked; her pretty little porcelain face crinkled with wrinkles of confusion.

'This,' I said whilst gesturing at her amazing apartment, 'I don't know how you managed to drop out of school at fifteen, find a fashion label that loved your work and now you're one of the most sought after designers here. All in five years; it's amazing.'

'I don't know Mitchie; when your parents kick you out for getting pregnant and for not being the perfect little princess they thought you were, you kinda _have_ to move on – you can't afford to mope around and have breakdowns every three days and start beating yourself up over how unlucky you are,' Ella said with a small shrug and my mouth dropped open in shock.

'You were _pregnant_? Since when?' I demanded as I set my cup on the glass table before waiting for my friend's answer.

'I thought you knew; I was pregnant when my parent kicked me out – didn't your parents tell you?' Ella asked as she scratched her head and tried to remember all that happened five years ago.

'No; why would they – oh my gosh they knew. They _knew? _How dare they not tell me!' I cried whilst standing up from the couch. 'You're _my_ friend and they _knew_ and didn't even bother _telling_ me. All they ever said was that you were going to boarding school and that you didn't want to be associated with my family after some crappy business deal between our Fathers.'

'Wow; your parents are better liars than mine – didn't even know that was possible,' Ella muttered as she placed her cup next to mine. 'I thought your parents knew Mitts; that's why I never bothered calling you until you found me. I guess my parents had brainwashed me into thinking that you'd never want to be associated with me after what happened so that's why you never called or tried to get in contact with me.'

'Don't apologise for how stupid they were Ells; I can't believe you were pregnant – wait. Where's the baby? I want to see this little kid that I have years of doting over to make up for,' I said as I looked around the room; expecting a five year old girl with long, black hair to come running out and greet me.

'She's not here,' Ella said quietly and it was my turn to be confused.

'Isn't she a bit young to be doing the whole sleepover thing?'

'No; that's not what I mean. She's not here because she was a stillborn; she didn't make it,' Ella explained and as I watched my friend's face age suddenly with sadness I quickly sat next to her and pulled her into a hug.

'I'm so sorry Ella; I never would have brought it up if I knew that – damn I hate my parents! I should have been there for you! You shouldn't have had to go through all that by yourself; you should've had _someone_,' I said whilst soothingly running my hand up and down Ella's back.

'It's okay Mitchie; it was almost five years ago…I've gotten over it,' Ella said and I gently hit my friend's back.

'I may not have seen you in a while but I still know when you're lying Miss Montez,' I reminded her as she pulled away with a smile on her face; reminding me once again that this inspirational girl was still nineteen.

'I'm sure you do Miss Torres but don't you have an interview today?' Ella questioned with a perfectly raised brow as she resumed drinking her cocoa.

'Yup; but not 'till, like, one so I'll have plenty of time to sleep later,' I answered with a wave of my hand.

'On a happier note: how'd you land an interview with Lava so fast anyway?' Ella asked; quickly changing the topic and pushing the attention back onto me.

'I'm not sure how that's a happier not but I sent in a CD that I managed to make a month or so ago before my parents went on a rampage and I guess they finally listened to it; you have no idea how thankful I am...not just for them giving me a chance but for you too. I swear the moment I get a job I'll start paying you back,' I promised as I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and kept it there with a elastic from around my wrist.

'Don't even think about it Mitts – actually you know what? You can pay me back when with how happy you're gonna be once you've scored the deal alright?' Ella said as she stood up and stretched her back. 'Anyway I should probably get some shut eye before I go into work in a couple hours; the bathroom, if you want a shower or something, is down the hall to the left and if you need anything just wake me alright Mitts?' Ella told me before giving me a tight hug.

'Got it and thanks again Ells; there's no way I could've done this without you,' I said with a laugh as she ruffled my fringe before walking out of the room.

I stood up from the couch once I heard her bedroom door shut and walked over to the glass sliding doors that led out to a small balcony. With a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach I pulled my baggy sweatshirt closer to my body before sliding the door open and walking out into the brisk, early morning air. As I breathed a deep sigh I noted that the air smelt funny and whilst I made my way out to the end of the balcony I could have sworn that I saw white flecks.

I waited a few more minutes and was thankful that I had as the white flecks that I had thought I must have imagined turned out to be snowflakes. I began giggling like a little child as I raised my hands to the sky and allowed the frozen droplets to land on my skin; causing goose bumps to erupt due to the sudden coldness.

_Oh if only Mum could see me right now; wearing tracksuit pants, a sweatshirt and standing outside whilst it's snowing with my hair looking atrocious. I think she would have an aneurysm. _

'I can do this; I'm sure I can. I can show my parents that I _do _know what's best for me and that I _don't_ need them controlling my future jobs and husbands. That I may be nineteen but I'm going to shine…yeah…I'm going to shine,' I quietly promised myself as a few stray tears rolled down my cheeks and the hot liquid mixed with the frozen droplets on my face; oddly making me feel satisfied in some twisted way.


	2. Getting To Know You and You and You

_**A/N: Second Chapter for all who are reading this. I really don't like this chapter but I had to get all the introductions out of the way before I could continue so now all I have to do is bring in the Rich Society and Caitlyn and we're good to go:)**_

_**Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks so much to **_**Kadence1, Checkers-Loves-Jonas _and _Ceecile _for being my first three reviewers for this story. You guys are awesome and thank you so much for your reviews and I'm glad you like TIMCN. _**

**_Disclaimer: The character names associated with Camp Rock aren't mine and neither is Lava Records.  
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I felt something scratch my eyelid whilst I was peacefully asleep but as I was too tired to try and scratch whatever it was away, I decided on ignoring it. That did not last long as I could still feel whatever it was touching the top of my eye lid. With a frustrated groan I rolled over to my side but when something sharp poked my eye I quickly sat up with a squeak and opened my eyes to see a bit of paper in front of me. With confusion egging me on, I grabbed the paper off of my head causing a small pinch from the stick strip and laughed to myself when I saw that it was from Ella.

_Should've figured…_

"Hey Mitts! I'm guessing you're awake so MORNING! Wanted to wish you good luck this morning but I didn't want to wake you so I hope your sleep in was worth missing my glorious 'G-day and Good Luck' pancakes – that's right. You missed them. Anyway have fun and don't stress out; you're gonna rock it! Oh but make sure you have a shower and brush your teeth before you go – damn you have funky morning breath! Love…duh: ME! Who else would be able to stick a sticky note on your head at seven in the morning? Xox"

'My breath doesn't smell _that _bad,' I mumbled under my breath whilst pulling myself up from my bed.

After hoping out of a steaming hot shower I walked over to the wardrobe and pulled open the double doors to reveal the small amount of clothes that I had unpacked last night.

_Note to self: buy more clothes after second pay check._

'What does someone wear to a music interview? Stylish? Classy? Or am I meant to look cool and relaxed – wait do I even have _cool _clothes?' I asked my empty room as I flipped through a couple of coat hangers.

I had just pulled out a blue dress that had roses printed across it when I heard the doorbell ring and I quickly looked down at what I was wearing. My eyes widened upon realising that I was all that was covering me was only an orange towel and when the doorbell rang once again I knew I would have to be extremely fast in changing.

'One minute!' I called out as I dropped the dress on my bed but the person at the door seemed not to hear me as they rung the door a third time and began pounding on the panel of wood. 'Can you not wait, like, five minutes?' I screamed whilst marching out of my room and down the hall.

With one hand holding the top of the towel so that it would not fall down I yanked the door open and glared at the man standing in front of me. He was about to start saying something when he looked at me and his mouth dropped open whilst a wide smile grew on my face.

'Would you look at that; after spending almost a year trying to shut you up I manage it in two seconds just by wearing a towel. Why didn't I think of that sooner?' I joked before pulling him into a tight hug.

'Wh-what are you doing here Mitchie?' he asked as I stepped aside and let him into Ella's apartment.

'This is where I live now; with Ella. What are you doing around this neighbourhood Anth?' I questioned as he took a seat on the edge of Ella's cream leather couch.

'Oh I moved over here a while back…you wouldn't know if Ella is here right now would you?' he asked awkwardly whilst scratching the back of his neck.

'No she isn't; what's the matter Anthony – what's got you all flushed and don't say it's the towel as I know that you're one of the biggest perverts around and have most definitely seen less than this on other girls,' I said whilst looking at my old friend in concern.

'N-nothing; just please don't tell Ella I was here alright?' Anthony said as he stood up and began backing away to the door.

'You're seriously just going to leave when we haven't seen each other in almost five years? I thought ex-girlfriend's got at least _some_ kind of interaction with their ex-boyfriend.'

'No; sorry Mitchie but I really gotta go – cya,' Anthony blurted out before practically running out of the apartment.

'See you Anthony…I think,' I mumbled whilst closing the door with a soft thud. 'That wasn't weird at all…didn't even know he lived around here or had contact with Ells still,' I mused as I made my way back to my room.

Two hours later I was flagging down a yellow taxi in my blue, strapless dress with a black leather jacket on top and my favourite black heels that had studs and braided leather on them; once again I silently wished my Mum could see how I was dressed. Slightly puffed, out I sat down inside of the smoky cab and gave the driver the address to Lava Records. As I composed myself I looked into the review mirror and ran my hands through my soft curls to make sure they did not get too messed up in my attempt to be a "normal person" and catch a taxi instead of taking a car.

I was grateful when we pulled up outside of the large building as the smell inside of the car was beginning to make me dizzy so I quickly paid the man before stepping out of the car and brushing out the wrinkles in my dress. I internally yelled at myself when a swift breeze of Winter air whipped against my bare legs but I pushed the chills that ran up and down my body to the back of my mind as I entered the warm building and walked up to the front desk.

'Hi; how can I do for you?' the man behind the desk asked without even bothering to look at me.

_How rude!_

'Um…I have a meeting today with a Mr Cesario. Do you know where I could find him?' I asked politely with a big smile though it was useless as he kept his eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him.

'Third floor; take a right then go straight for a while, make a left when you come to the fourth corner catch the elevator to the eighth floor and he'll be the third door on your left,' he answered in a monotone voice and I nodded a few times whilst trying to remember what he had said.

'Uh...thanks – I guess,' I said before turning on my heel and following his directions around every corner and then walked over to the elevator that he had told me to go on.

The door was just about to close when someone shoved their hand inside to stop it. With a twinge of annoyance at having to give up my empty elevator I watched as a tall, straight hair man walked in and pressed a button. My eyes travelled over his body as I took in his dishevelled appearance and I shook my head in disdain though unfortunately that was when he turned to face me.

'What are you looking at?' he demanded whilst leaning on the wall across from me.

'Your attire,' I answered shortly and smirked upon seeing the lipstick mark on the top of his collar of the white v-neck shirt he was wearing.

'What's wrong with it?' he questioned as he did a double take of his clothes. 'And who says "attire" these days anyway?'

'Where do you want me to start and someone that has enough brains to know that if I was a guy I'd be smart enough to at least wipe of the tacky red lipstick from either the night before or this morning,' I quipped and began laughing when he turned in a circle in hope of seeing the makeup mark.

'There's no makeup on me,' he said with a grin that fell into a confused frown when I stepped forward and pulled the neck of his shirt out to show him.

'Unless it was the aim of the designer to have that disgusting mark there to represent a man's many "quickies" with a blonde bimbo that he probably doesn't even know the name of, I'd suggest wiping it off,' I suggested as the elevator dinged to tell me it was at my floor.

'Firstly she was a brunette and do you know who I am?' the man asked me whilst he eyed the lipstick on his shirt.

'You look a bit familiar but that doesn't change the fact that you're an imbecile that thinks I want to know the type of girl he has sex with?' I guessed before giving a short wave and stepping out of the elevator. With a smug grin I turned to watch his face turn into a scowl and watched his attempt to get out of the elevator but it closed on his face.

_Maybe I could have been a _tad _nicer to him…okay then; from this moment on I will be polite and nice and put the manners Mum forced me to learn to good use; no matter who the person is. I wonder why he seemed familiar…_

I walked down the empty hallway to where another desk was and smiled politely at the person behind it though my mask did not last long.

'Didn't I already talk to you?' I asked whilst running a hand through my hair in confusion.

'You did?' he asked; his gaze still fixed on the computer in front of him.

'C'mon will you _please_ help me out; I can't be late for this meeting,' I pleaded and he finally looked at me.

'What are you – hey,' he greeted quickly as he sat a tad straighter in his leather seat upon seeing what I looked like, 'how can I help you?'

_Nice to know that having a Mother who was so obsessive over her daughter's appearance finally came in handy. _

'I've already told you; I need to see Mr Cesario. Surely you haven't forgotten the conversation already,' I said whilst resting my arms on top of the desk.

'Oh sorry about that; you must've been talking to my brother. Mr Cesario's office is just down to the left,' he explained I nodded in thanks.

'I never thought I'd come across twins working in the same place but on different floors; sorry but what's your name?' I questioned whilst leaning forwards.

'Peter; if you ever need anything just ask – but make sure it's me, not Malcolm…he isn't much of a "people's person" y'know,' Peter said whilst shaking my outstretched hand.

'Oh don't I know it,' I mumbled under my breath, 'anyway I should get going to my meeting; nice meeting you Peter,' I called over my shoulder as I made my way down the hall.

I stopped outside of an office that had Mr Cesario's name on in and I contemplated whether or not to knock. I turned away from it and began pacing back and forth whilst cracking my knuckles as I attempted to convince myself to knock on the door.

_C'mon Mitchie; you've come all this way. You can't turn back now. You _have_ to prove what you can do – to Mr Cesario _and_ the people back at the club. _

'Ah…you okay?' I concerned voice asked suddenly; the sudden noise made me clutch my speeding heart in shock as I spun around to face the person.

'I was until you almost gave me a heart attack,' I answered whilst taking a deep breath before noticing something familiar about this guy to, 'sorry but do I know you?'

'Well what type of music do you listen to?' he asked whilst shaking his hands through his dark curly locks.

'Depends on who's around me when you ask,' I replied and laughed when his face dropped in confusion.

'There you are Nate; you wouldn't by chance happen to be Miss Torres would you love?' another man, quite old in comparison to the one I was talking to, asked me through a gap in the door.

'That would be me are you -'

'Brilliant! We were starting to think you got lost in this big 'ole building,' the older man said as he fully opened the door and welcomed me inside.

'Um…thanks,' I mumbled as I walked past him and inside of a room that held two, casually yet chic dressed ladies, a man in a pin stripe suit and another boy standing by the window and looking out on the view.

'Jase are you sure you should be standing that close to the window?' Nate, at least that was what the older man had called him, asked the one by the window as he walked over and gave him a quick, one armed hug.

'I think you're confusing me with Shane, Nate; by the way he just texted me before to let us know he'll be running late but says it isn't his fault,' the boy said as he and Nate took a seat at the large, oak table in the middle of the room.

'Great; we'll be given another one of Shane's famous excuses…wonder what'll be this time,' Nate mused sarcastically as he rested his head on his propped up hand.

'Your guess is as good as mine Nate.'

'You okay love? You look a bit shell shocked,' the man who had been at the door said whilst gesturing for me to take a seat at the table.

'Not shell shocked; just trying to absorb what's going on,' I assured him whilst sitting down in the black leather seat and I was instantly thankful of how soft it was.

'Where are my manners?' the man asked whilst taking a seat next to me and sticking out his hand to shake. 'I'm Brown Cesario and it is a pleasure to meet the girl behind that amazing voice I heard; that was you right Miss Torres?'

'Yes sir; that was an entirely, one hundred per cent non-edited CD of me singing – sorry if I was a bit scratchy at times,' I said whilst pumping his hand twice, 'and please call me Mitchie.'

'Mitchie? Bit of an unusual name your parents gave you,' Nate said; eyeing me curiously.

'Oh no, my parents would've _never _named me that,' I corrected him with a bitter smile, 'they named me Michelle but no one I know calls me that anymore.'

'What's the point of having a name if no one even uses it?' Nate probed and I was about to try and explain my situation in simple terms when the boy sitting next to Nate spoke up.

'I don't think now's the right time to be asking for her life story Nate; how about we get the business details done first?'

_Who are these boys?!_

'I'm sorry and I know this is going to sound incredibly rude but…_who are youse_?' I asked and pushed the vibrating inside of my bag to the back of my mind.

'You really don't know who we are, do you?' Nate asked with a wide grin and I shook my head "no."

'I mean you seem really familiar and all but nothing's clicking in my mind,' I said and I heard Mr Cesario chuckle next to me.

'Can't wait until Shane meets someone who genuinely doesn't know him,' he laughed before quietening himself, 'Mitchie this is Toadie; he knows everything about all the current hot spots and celebrities. You name a place he can not only get you in there but can also tell you whether the audience will like you and how many people will be there but I keep him on as he has an awesome sense of rhythm when we feel like playing a tune,' Mr Cesario said; gesturing to the man who gave me a curt nod before turning back to his phone. 'This lady over here,' he said whilst pointing at the blonde, 'is Pattie and she will be the one who will organise your wardrobe and make up and all that other female stuff I really have no idea about and will be working alongside my leading lady and your manager should you choose to sign with us; Dee la Duke,' Mr Cesario said and I nodded as I could not think what to say.

_Where are all the financial backers? The harsh critics who look down on me through the designer spectacles? The same ones I could've bought in a blink of an eye if I had the need for it._

'I think you put her into shock Brown,' Nate chuckled and I shot him a glare.

'I'm not in shock I just never imagined the meeting to be like this,' I said; deciding that for once I should voice my thoughts.

'What do you mean? Friendly? Relaxed? Casual? All of the above?' Mr Cesario teased and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks.

'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to imply that I thought you would all be snobs, Mr Cesario -'

'Hang on a second love; if I'm gonna call you Mitchie then you gotta call me Brown alright; it's a two way street,' Brown said giving me a stern look and I nodded in agreement. 'Alright now that's over with and don't even think about apologising for thinking we'd be like the asses next door; trust me…they are a bunch of mules them blokes -'

'Brown, stop that. You're gonna give the poor girl a bad impression of everyone in the music industry soon,' Dee interrupted Brown with a disapproving frown though there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

'Alright, alright; back to the introductions anyway,' Brown said in an attempt to bring us back on track, 'and these two lads are Nate and Jason; also known as the "smart one" and the "friendly one" of Connect Three.'

'Oh! I thought you seemed familiar; my parents forced me to have your picture in my room,' I said whilst a lightbulb went off inside my head at the sudden realisation.

'You were "forced"?' Jason asked in disbelief and I shrugged my shoulders.

'You're music was good and all but just not my taste; though the poster came into good use,' I said with a wicked smile as I leant my elbows on the edge of the table; a _very_ un-lady like position too.

'I think I'm scared to ask what happened the poster,' Pattie said in a throaty voice as she flicked a piece of blonde hair over her shoulder.

'Long story short I was able to use the missing member's body as a dartboard with one of my closest friends; we got some brilliant times out of him,' I admitted honestly before realising what I had said, 'I'm so sorry; that was so rude of me. I'm sure that Shane Grey is not that bad it is just that Ella and I would have felt awful if we had of aimed at either of you two so we decided on the one that irritated us the most. Honestly it was nothing personal; just our way of rebelling against what we had to live by,' I babbled before clamping a hand over my mouth upon deciding that I had dug my grave deep enough as it was and hoped that the door creaking open meant we would have a distraction.

_Stupid proper speech being bred into me!_

'First ya say "attire" and then I come in here and you're sayin' words like "awful" and "irritated"? What are you: some wannabe Dictionary?' someone asked behind me and I heard both Nate and Jason groan in annoyance.

'Haven't I already schooled you in your clothing choices; please don't say I have to teach you proper English and how to knock on a door too,' I begged whilst slouching back in the chair. I did not even bother to turn around as I knew that voice belonged to the same boy in the elevator.

'I think I'm gonna like this chickadee,' Dee said quietly with an amused smile and the few people who were in the room nodded in agreement.

'Don't think I'd take lessons from the chick that locked me in the elevator and threw darts at my head,' the voice behind me sneered and I spun the chair around and stood up with my hands on my hips.

'Firstly you can't lock someone in an elevator unless we were both in there or you did so whilst with one of your…_acquaintances_ as that is a health and safety violation and secondly I didn't throw darts at you. If you were listening in on the conversation the _correct _way you would have heard me say "Shane" as is Shane Grey.'

'Take a closer look at me babe; I _am_ Shane Grey,' he said smugly in that deep voice of his and I gave him a closer once over and realisation hit me for the second time.

'Huh…so you _are_ Shane Grey – wait…oh sorry about the whole "darts in your face thing." Though you had it coming with the way you shoved that eight year old girl off of you at the mall,' I replied with a tight smile before taking my seat once again and turning back to everyone at the table, 'shall we get back to the meeting ladies and gentlemen?'

'Oh; this is going to be a _very_ memorable meeting,' I heard Jason tell Nate and I hung my head slightly so that my hair covered my blushing cheeks.

_Well there goes my plan to be nice to everyone…maybe if I only do that when _he_ is not in the same room as me. That sounds bearable at least._


	3. I Think I'll Keep My Dirty Little Secret

_**A/N: Alright so here's the third chapter. I hope you enjoy it as it took me a while to figure out which parts I would include in this chapter and which parts to throw into the next and I think I like it; "think" being the main word here of course.**_

_**So I'm officially on Summer Holidays even though it's still Spring and that means I get to do what I want, as long as it's legal and I don't get caught doing so, when I want for two whole months. You know how I started this great time? Sleeping. Yup. I never realised how tired and exhausted I was from exams so I think I slept through my first two days of holidays haha. Anyway I'll be writing a lot more now as everyone in my family works which means I can write for a whole day if I want to - which I also plan to do.**_ _**So keep your eyes open for other updates of my stories and keep smiling :)**_

_**Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine except for those you haven't met or know and I think that's about it this time around.  
**_

* * *

'Okay love this is your contract, you have until tomorrow to read it and I know the size looks intimidating but it's bark is worse than it's bite,' Brown informed me whilst handing over a thick stack of papers.

_I think the word "thick" is an understatement here. That's like…all of my school work I've ever done in my whole life, including exams, assignments and tests, in one big pile. Awesome!_

'Oh don't worry; I've seen these before and I should have it done in a few minutes if you want,' I said whilst flicking the first booklet to the first little red "sign here" sticker and grabbed a pen out of my bag; my lucky blue pen of course.

'Are you sure you don't want to read over it first sweet pea?' Dee asked from her end of the table and I looked up at her with raised eyebrows; my pen only a centimetre away from the dotted line.

'Why? Have you added anything in here that a normal contract for a music label would not have?' I questioned as I moved my pen away from the page and propped my elbow up on the stack instead.

'How would you know what it's meant to have? Brown said this was your first time in the music business,' Nate said looking at me curiously and I gave a small smile.

'My Father is a lawyer and cases in the music industry was one of his most common jobs; people getting their music stolen, people having bad conditions because they neglected to read the fine print…you name it and my Father's fought for it,' I explained as I began twirling my blue pen around between my fingers.

'Daddy's precious little girl, huh?' Shane teased and my smile turned into a scowl as I turned to face him.

'No; I was neither of my parents "precious little girl," go ask them if you want and I'm sure they'll confirm it for you,' I said with a dark smile before turning my focus back onto the documents in front of me, 'so besides the normal stuff is there anything else I should know about?'

'There's the fact that, when needed, you'll have to come and help these boys with their music as I've read some of your other work and its genius,' Brown complimented me and I quickly looked at him in surprise.

'My "other work"? But I only sent you the CD,' I said as I ran a hand through my soft curls that were beginning to turn back to their natural waves.

'You may have love but someone sent in a book with your name on it along with a letter of recommendation,' Brown said and I laughed in disbelief.

'Well that must not have been my music book as I lost that earlier in the year and no one I know would do something like that for me,' I said and Brown gave a small shrug.

'You sure it isn't yours Mitchie? It has some of the songs you sung on the CD along with a few others in it,' Jason said; his eyebrows drawn close together, 'if you want to have a look at it, it's in the Double C; Nate was checking it out earlier.'

'That's a brilliant idea Jase; why don't you three show Mitchie the Double C and get to know each other and take your contract home tonight and at least _act_ like you've read over it and you'll also be picking out your band mates tomorrow,' Brown said enthusiastically as everyone rose to their feet in agreement; a certain messy haired boy more reluctant than the rest.

'Okay I seriously am lost and is it just me or does that man have a lot of "ands"?' I asked as I rubbed my temples whilst getting to my feet.

'Don't worry; we'll explain on the way,' Nate assured me as he walked around the table and picked up all my paperwork for me.

'Thanks; you don't have to carry them though, you know that right?' I asked whilst quickly bending down to get my bag before chucking my pen inside of it.

'Oh well; I've already got it in my arms so it'd seem pointless to hand them over now,' Nate said with a smile as we made our way out of the room; Jason and Shane trailing behind us and it was obvious that they were quietly fighting with each other.

'Do they always fight?' I asked Nate after throwing a glance over my shoulder to see their arms flying everywhere in different sorts of gestures.

'No; normally it's Shane and I but whenever it's about a guest or someone we'll need to work with then Jason will step up and take a turn at the bat,' Nate said and I suddenly felt guilty for Jason.

'I didn't mean for them to fight…' I trailed off whilst looking around once again.

'Don't worry about it Mitchie, trust me; with what Shane will most likely put you through…let's just say we should probably be the ones apologising to you,' he said and I started laughing but stopped when I realised he was serious.

'Don't worry about me, Nate. I'm a big girl and learnt a long time ago how to hold my own,' I said and I zoned out for a few moments as I remembered some of the award winning arguments I had with my family, but hearing the sound of skin hitting skin shook me from my reverie and I realised we had arrived outside of another room.

'Mitchie, meet the Connecting Corner; or as we like to call it: the Double C,' Nate said before opening the white door to reveal a large room filled with almost every electronic gaming device I had ever known of, two large lounges, a fridge and many other things that I was in awe of.

'Wow; you guys definitely know how to decorate don't you,' I joked whilst walking inside and ignored Shane's muttering that he could not believe that they were "letting a girl inside of their sacred space"; which earned him another whack from Jason.

'Yeah well we spend a lot of time here so we thought it best to have it suiting our needs,' Jason said as he walked forward and jumped onto one of the couches.

'Your "needs" include a big screen television?' I questioned whilst taking a seat on the couch opposite Jason.

'Yup,' Nate answered with a big smile whilst plopping himself down next to Jason.

'I guess "to each their own" applies here,' I laughed to myself as I sat down and continued to look around the room.

'So tell us about you, Mitchie – we like to try and have an "upfront policy" around here,' Jason said as he ran a hand through his curly hair.

'What do you mean by that?' I enquired as I opened my large bag and began searching for my buzzing phone.

'You know; no secrets and all that,' Nate clarified and I heard someone snort from nearby and did not even have to raise my head to see who it was.

'If you ask me our little princess here has a few too many secrets tucked under that pretty dress of hers,' Shane said; his breath against my ear and as I snatched my phone out of my bottomless bag, I reached back with my other hand and shoved Shane away from me.

'Okay there is so many things wrong with that little sentence of yours,' I spat as I stood up; phone in hand, 'firstly I'm _no-one's_ princess as I've already informed you, secondly you don't know a thing about me so don't pretend like you do and thirdly a perverted _playa_ like you will _never_ see what's under my dress.'

'Someone's feisty,' Shane muttered under his breath as he made his way around the couch and, much to my annoyance, sat down next to me.

'Aren't you going to answer your phone?' Jason asked as I watched with wide eyes as the caller's ID flashed across my phone screen.

'Oh…no,' I answered as I quickly declined the call and locked my phone.

'Why not?' Shane demanded and I stifled a laugh as a plush basketball flew across the room and hit Shane squarely in the face.

'Dude, don't pry,' Nate hissed at Shane and it was obvious that it was him who had thrown the basketball as his arm was still hanging in the air.

'Bro, you're starting to sound like Miss Prissy over here; bloody hell I bet her grammar's catchy,' Shane said with an overdramatic groan before flopping down on the couch; his head in my lap.

'I think the word you're looking for is "contagious" and you shouldn't complain as it would do you a world of good to have some actual English coming out of that disease infested mouth of yours and, since I've already stated that you'll never get _under_ my dress, I'd like to also inform you that you'll never get _on top _of me either,' I said before shoving his head off of my lap which resulted in his whole body rolling off of the couch.

'I think you're the first _ever _person to resist Shane's "charm",' Jason said in awe and I giggled as Shane threw a glare at me before walking over to a nearby pinball machine.

'Don't you mean "female"?' I questioned with raised brows as Shane began furiously hitting the buttons alongside the machine.

'Nope; there's been plenty of guys that have tried,' Nate informed me and I scrunched my nose up as an image of what the boys must have seen appeared before my eyes.

'Can we please get back to the subject?' Shane yelled in aggravation after slamming his hands against the top of the machine which made me assume that he had lost the game.

'What subject was that?' I asked as Shane once again made his way over to me and sat on the arm of the couch opposite me.

'Secrets and privacy and all that,' Shane reminded me as my phone began to ring again.

'I don't have any secrets and as for privacy I'd happily tell Nate and Jason anything,' I said honestly as I pried my phone from my bag and groaned inwardly at the caller ID.

'Then who's calling you and how come you won't trust me?' Shane asked and I was surprised that he actually looked hurt.

'Wrong number again – my phone's been acting up on me and for some reason all these strangers keep calling me,' I said whilst pressing the small red phone and turning my phone to vibrate; ignoring Shane's second question.

'Have you called the telephone company?' Jason asked and I began to realise that he would grow to be like the older brother I never had.

'Yes but they say there's nothing they can do – do you boys knew if a phone can be traced?'

'Um yeah, I'm pretty sure they can but only by, like, the police or something,' Nate answered and I nodded my head as I began to think up a plan.

'This is going to sound very rude of me but when will I get paid?'

'Brown has a couple options; you can get paid after your first album or single, paid once you tour begins, after every song you write for yourself or collaborate on with us; the amount depending on how popular it becomes, or you can get paid in advance; granted if something goes wrong you'd be able to pay him back.'

'Good…that'll work brilliantly,' I said quietly to myself and heard Shane bitterly laugh.

'She's a prostitute or druggy; betcha her "Daddy" is calling her for the goods. Should've known…' he said whilst slowly shaking his head.

'Let me guess; you know the whole scenario so well because you've paid off all your little…_friend's _debts?' I shot back with a smirk that quickly disappeared upon feeling my phone vibrating inside of my hand; no doubt from the same caller.

_I have a feeling that they are not going to leave me alone anytime soon and I'm going to have to go see Brown tomorrow and ask for some help._

_-------_

'Mitchie your phone is ringing!' Ella yelled from the living room and I quickly ran out from the kitchen and into the room where Ella was standing with a confused expression on her face; my phone cupped in her hand.

'Don't answer Ella, please don't,' I begged and whilst biting her lower lip she hung up on the caller and placed my phone back on the coffee table.

'Who keeps calling you Mitts?' Ella enquired as she sat down on the edge of her tan leather couch and patted the seat next to her for me to sit down.

'It's a long story, Ells,' I said as I threw myself down next to her and grabbed one of the nearby pillows and hugged it against my chest.

'Hey, we went through why I left last night; I think it's your turn to tell me the real reason why you've finally walked away.'

'I'm getting married…' I said after a few seconds of silence and brought the pillow even closer to me as Ella's mouth dropped open.

'Married; as in bride and groom, black and white, fancy China patterns and prenuptials?' Ella asked; clearly dumbfounded.

'No Ella; the other kind of marriage that involves a Rubix cube and camel – of course that kind of marriage!' I yelled though regretted it when Ella flinched away from me.

'Geez Mitchie. Why didn't you ever tell me?' she asked as she brought her feet up onto the couch to get into a comfier position.

'It's not something you tell your best friend over a phone call or through a letter and it's not like I even _want _to get married.'

'Then why are you?'

'The same reason why any girl in our society gets married at nineteen-'

'For business, for class, for beautiful babies,' we both said in unison and I gave a tight lipped smile as Ella chuckled softly at the stupid code.

'Who did your parents match you up with?' Ella asked and I hid my face beneath my hands and dreaded the teasing that I knew would come in a few seconds.

'William Shaw.'

'Wallowing William? You've got to be kidding! No offence but that's hysterical Mitch. What on Earth were your parents thinking when they set you up with Wallowing Will? He hardly fits the motto that's been imbedded in our brains since childhood.'

'William doesn't wallow so much anymore Ella. His family found some large amount of oil on one of their investment properties, he then went and discovered the miracles of a gym and has since turned from Wallowing William to Whiskey, Wanking Willy,' I spat as I remembered my last interaction with him and how _persistent_ he was.

'I'm kind of hoping that his new name is some kind of inside joke between you two,' Ella said; her face slowly scrunching up as she prepared for the truth.

'I wish; let's just say there are now plenty of girls who wish they were able to _look_ at Will without disapproving glares from our parents but not one of them is envious of my future that will consist of having to wake up to him every morning.'

'Please say you haven't…' she trailed off and it took me a few moments to realise what she was trying to ask.

'God no; and honestly even if my parents force me down the aisle I have no intentions of _ever _bedding him!' I said as I let my head drop back so it hit the top of the couch.

'He's not abusive is he Mitts? You said "Whiskey" and I think we both know that's not a drink you take lightly,' Ella said and I smiled at the memory of our attempts of sculling a glass each; it was most definitely not one of our finer moments.

'No, though he did try once; other than that it's more the stories that scare me,' I admitted softly and after feeling the couch dip I felt Ella's arms wrap around me in a tight hug.

'I won't let you get married to him alright? We'll figure out something – I'm not going to let you get screwed over by guy too,' Ella swore and I held onto her with a tight grip.

'Thank you; I can't marry him Ells…I can't; if I do, I don't think I'll make it out of the hotel room on the wedding night,' I said as tears began to build up in my eyes.

'It's okay Mitts; we'll run away to Ireland and get plastic surgery and take up new identities if we have to. You can be the blonde, stick thin, double D, Kimberly Smith and I'll be the over intelligent, chunky, red headed, Monica Chou; they'll never know it's us,' Ella said; her voice breaking near the end and I felt a few tears fall on my arms though I was unsure of whether they were hers or mine.

'Sounds like a plan…' I agreed as I rested my head against hers and we both cried for a little while about how pathetic and dramatic our lives had become and how it was all our parents fault.

'Hey Mitts?' Ella asked; her voice sounding like a Giant's in our quiet apartment.

'Yup?' I answered; making sure to pop the "p" as I watched as what was left of the logs of wood in the fireplace crackle and burn.

'When do you think it's going to stop snowing?'

'Not sure Ells; do you know how to pick the perfect band mates?'

'No but I can create their faces on their jackets with rhinestones when you finally choose them,' Ella offered and I chuckled as I rolled myself off of the couch and landed on the hard ground. 'That sounded like it hurt.'

'How about you figure out which people would work perfectly for me and get Shane off my back for one day and then in return I'll stop it snowing,' I compromised from the floor; propping my head on top of my hand, 'and yes it did hurt.'

'Why would you do that?' Ella shrieked as she also rolled off of the couch and landed on my back.

'Gee Ells; you're the one that just said you wanted it to stop and would you get off my spine, woman?' I grunted as I reached my arms back and attempted to shove her off even though I could not reach her.

'I love the snow just as much as you do Mitchie so don't you even _think_ about stopping it or I won't get off you,' Ella childishly threatened as she moved off me for a second but then her full weight was put back on my back and I sighed in defeat.

'Fine; I won't stop you're bloody snow – now would you get your buttocks off my back?'

'Alright,' Ella agreed reluctantly and finally got up off me and I quickly stood up so she could not sit on me again, 'but if I wake up in a couple of hours and the snow's stopped I'm coming after you.'

'Your threat was noted and you do realise that eventually we're going to have to start going to bed _before_ three in the morning,' I called out to Ella's retreating figure and she turned around and playfully poked her tongue out at me.

'If we were to do that then we would be accepting the fact that we're no longer children and I just cannot bring myself to do such a horrific thing, Miss Torres,' Ella cried out dramatically as she slapped a hand across her cheek for affect.

'You are such a drama queen, Ella! You sure that being a fashionista is your calling, because I'm starting to think you should move into the acting field.'

'Ha, ha Mitchie; you're a real comedian. Just remember that it'll be me who will design almost all your clothes for the red carpet, so I'd watch my words if I was you,' Ella reminded me and I erupted into a fit of laughter as she walked off to her room.

My laughter however was short lived as my phone began to once again buzz on the coffee table and I was suddenly incredibly thankful that I never fell into the "annoying ringtone" category that most teenagers did. With a few murmured complaints I bent down and snatched the phone up and glared at the number.

'If I answer you, then you'll neverleave me alone but if I don't you'll _still _never leave me alone,' I said a loud before pressing the red phone button for the hundredth time that day, 'but then again if I have to choose between whether you think I'm dead or alive I choose to be a part of the "Six Feet Under Club".'

I then turned my phone off and slid it into my jumper's pocket and made my way to my bedroom to organise my clothes for work; deciding to get the tedious decision over and done with now. I slid open my wardrobe door to reveal the near empty space and made a mental note to go shopping and buy some winter clothes.

'What beautiful ensemble can I come up with today?' I asked as I pushed a few coat hangers to the right so that I could see my cobalt blue blazer. I began to chew on the inside of my mouth as I chucked the blazer over my shoulder and onto my bed and quickly went to where I had hung the three skirts I had brought. I picked out a black skirt that had glittery silver strips of different sizes across it and a fringed hem and then threw it over my shoulder before grabbing a black, loose singlet that was cut so that the bottom of the shirt was round and also my black, floral print fishnet tights. 'If I team all of this together and steal a pair of Ella's black ankle boots then I actually might have something – wait am I talking to myself? No, sane people don't – wait I am…I really need to make some normal friends,' I groaned after closing my wardrobe door and moving all of the pieces of clothing off of my bed and onto a nearby chair before climbing into my large bed and pulling the thick, warm covers over me.

_Day One in a normal world is complete; now I just have to keep my secrets as secrets, make sure that I pick the right people for my band and defeat Shane in every verbal or physical battle today. Sounds easy enough…_

-------


	4. I'm Just You're Everyday Uptown Girl

_**A/N: Here's Chapter four and I hope you enjoy it as I'm forbidding myself to update this story again until I've uploaded two more chapters of Runaway To Find A Home. I keep leaving that story as I got so hooked on this one so I'm pulling the big guns. it's just I'm really liking the plot line of this one and I have so much to write and I haven't been in the best of moods lately and for some reason I have a feeling that if I was to write a passage about a girl almost getting raped...let's say it probably wouldn't help my current mood. Plus I really need sleep and my dreams have turned into nightmares lately so therefore I'd really rather not make them worse but adding someone who gets raped into them...if that makes any sense. So anyway if you get bored and you're waiting for an update you'll have to check one of my other stories though I promise it will be as soon as possible.**_

_**Oh and excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes as although it's not late I realised I have work in the morning from 8am to 6pm and I've figured I'm gonna need a hell of a lot of sleep as...well it's the holidays and they're meant for resting NOT for working! And if Wal-mart doesn't give out memberships I'm sorry but I'm an Aussie and I'm pretty sure we don't have any Wal-mart's here - we do have a Costco, Woolworths and many other shops that probably have NOTHING to do with Wal-mart.  
**_

_**So once again here's chapter four and you'll hear a bit of Mitchie's past and a little bit of who Ella is nowadays. So enjoy and there shall be many more secrets of Mitchie's to come along with Ella's and of course Connect 3. Caitlyn will be coming into the story next chapter as well and furhter along, maybe chapter ten or something, you'll go back to the Grey's hometown and meet a very special friend of Shane's :D**_

_**Enjoy xoo  
**_

_**Disclaimer: Alright the characters associated with Camp Rock are not mine and neither is the product Aspirin or the store Wal-mart. However any new characters are mine as is the company Marley Trigger.  
**_

* * *

'Stop!' I called over the collection of badly timed notes that the girl in front of me called "music."

'Do I have the part?' she asked hopefully as she pulled her dark auburn hair out of its messy bun.

'Um...' I quickly glanced down at the list of names whilst my brain formulated a way to avoid he question and then I looked back up at her, 'thanks for coming today Annie and I'll call you if you get the job alright?'

'Oh; alright then – thanks,' Annie said happily as she moved away from the keyboard and left the room with a bright smile plastered to her face; one I similarly wore until the door she exited from closed.

'Finally,' I said whilst breathing a sigh of relief as I slumped down in my leather seat and looked through the list of names on the clipboard once again.

'What was wrong with her?' Nate asked from next to me and I shrugged my shoulders as I picked up a pen and crossed Annie's name off the list.

'Well you see, the poor girl might have had a chance if she was not so focused on throwing you and Jason every flirtatious smile that a woman has ever invented,' I said nonchalantly after throwing my pen back onto the table and then sat upright once again just as the door opened.

'What'd I miss?' Shane asked as he walked inside; not even bothering to close the door it behind him.

'Let's see shall we? You missed the drummers, all of the guitarists; _including _bass, electric _and_ acoustic and we just wrapped up the keyboardists,' I answered bitterly before seeing the damp bottom of one of Shane's pant legs, 'and it seems you also missed a puddle.'

'Shuddup,' Shane muttered whilst taking his seat next to Nate and I could not help but laugh.

'I'm not going to shut up; you were the one that asked what you missed so I was just stating everything; whether it was obvious or not,' I said once I had calmed down and Shane leant back in his seat and shot me one of his famous "death glares," 'is that meant to scare me?'

'Another walk of shame, Shane?' Jason enquired with a smirk and I high-fived his hand with a smile of my own; happy that someone else had noted that Shane was wearing exactly what he was yesterday though there was another lipstick mark on his collar.

'Something tells me that I'm going to have to start carrying hairspray around with me whenever you're around,' I said as I stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in my skirt.

'What are you two talking about?' Shane groaned as he let his head fall to the table with a loud "thud."

'Looks like someone had tad too much to drink last night too,' I noted before bending down and grabbing my bag off of the ground and searching through the many pockets inside.

'Nate, can't you make her shuddup?' Shane mumbled and Nate merely chuckled as I continued my search.

'You had it coming, Shane. The moment you walked in here looking and acting the way you are – let's just say you're fighting a losing battle,' Nate said and Shane gave another groan which only made Jason, Nate and I laugh.

'Dudes will you stop laughing and talking? Not. In. The. Mood,' Shane stated and with a small smile I finally pulled out the packet of aspirin that my Mother had always told me to carry around; 'in case of emergencies' she used to say.

'It's your own fault for partying when you know you have work the next day,' I said as walked past his desk and dropped the small box next to his head, 'only take two and I'll be back in a few.'

'Where are you going? We still have to go through the massive list of names,' Jason reminded me as I made my way over to the door.

'I know we're meant to choose who I want to work with but I already know which ones I like, so I'm just going to go get some hairspray, a new t-shirt and some more water for Mr One-Night-Stand over there. Keep an eye on Shane; I rather him not overdose on _my_ aspirin,' I called over my shoulder as I pressed down on the silver handle.

'But why are you helping Shane? I thought you hated him,' Nate said; obviously confused by my actions.

'"Hate" is such a strong word and despite what I may think of your brother, I still have to work with him so I'd like for him to be awake,' I explained whilst opening the door and walking out.

'She talks too much,' I heard Shane complain before I shut the door and I walked down the hallway and out of the big building with a small smile on my face; pleased that I was doing the right thing instead of making Shane's hangover worse than what it was.

----

'What are we doing?' Shane asked as I dragged him into a nearby bathroom and placed my bag onto the counter before pulling out the needed items.

'I'm not working with a man that looks like you do at the current moment,' I answered whilst placing the hairspray on top of the new t-shirt and then extended my hand expectantly.

'What do you want now?' he asked with a yawn whilst I gestured to his t-shirt.

'I'm trying to make you look more presentable so would you please give me your shirt Shane?' I asked politely although I was about ready to tear his messy, raven locks out.

'Why?'

'So I can clean those tacky stains off of it.'

'But…why?'

'Are you always this annoying?'

'Only to those who annoy me.'

'Just give me your shirt, Shane,' I demanded impatiently as I began tapping my foot; regretting my decision to help Shane.

'Fine, fine, fine – but _don't_ wreck it,' Shane said and I could not help but roll my eyes at how protective he was over his shirt.

'I'll try not to wreck you twenty dollar shirt,' I replied sarcastically as I took the shirt from him and unceremoniously dumped it onto the bench.

'That shirt cost me eighty bucks, thank you,' Shane replied haughtily as he lifted himself up onto the bench and when I turned to actually look at him I realised he was still shirtless.

'Firstly, no one should pay that much for a classic faded out white v-neck t-shirt and secondly, would you put this other shirt on? I would rather not see your stomach,' I mumbled as I picked up the new shirt I had bought for him and threw it at his face.

'When it's a "Trigger" original you do and you should know that only the _privileged_ get to see my abs,' Shane informed me cockily as he eyed the new shirt in his hands before pulling it over his head.

"_Trigger" as in "Marley Trigger"…I wonder if Ells knows about this._

'I can honestly tell you that I do not feel the slightest privileged,' I assured him as I took the lid off of the hairspray and began spraying where the stains where.

'What the hell are you doing?! Fuck!' Shane cursed and I looked up from his shirt to see him holding his head.

'Just nurse your hangover Shane and let me fix things,' I said with a small sigh as I continued spraying the stains.

'Fine; but only because my head is fucking killing me right now,' Shane agreed reluctantly as he leant back against the mirrored wall and rested his head against it.

'Thank you,' I mumbled as I placed the lid back on the tin and stowed it away in my bag, 'I just have to let it sit for a while and then I'll soak it.'

'How'd you learn this?' Shane asked softly and I was taken off guard at his sudden change of mood.

'Mariette taught me once upon a time,' I answered with a playful smile as the memory came back to me.

'_Etty. Etty, where are you?' I yelled at the top of my lungs as I ran through the giant building my parents called "home."_

_I was no older than eight and as I neared the kitchen my frustration at the poofyness of my dress reached its peak, so I hiked it up with my hands and ran the remainder of the way; praying that Mariette would be there._

'_What's the matter, sweetie?' I heard her kind, nurturing voice asked and I quickly spun around to face the woman I thought to be my second mother._

'_I spilt something and Mother is going to be so mad when she sees it,' I answered shyly; my hands clasped together and hanging over my left hip – cleverly hiding the stain from anyone who passed me._

'_Well what did you spill and what on Earth is on your face?' She questioned as she moved forwards and lifted my head so that she could see me better._

'_That's the thing Etty, you know how Mother's not home and how she _never_ lets me use any of her makeup…' I began to explain; trailing off and hoped that Mariette would catch on._

'_You are only eight, child, and your Mother's make up costs a fair bit,' Mariette reminded me and I hurriedly nodded my head; wanting to get the explanation over and done with as I had no idea what time my parents would be home._

'_I know, I know but I was harmlessly using some lipstick but then their bathroom door opened and gave me an awful fright as I thought it was them, so I dropped the lipstick and turned quickly to find that it was neither of my parents but only one of the maids, Penny I think, and when I looked down I saw…well…this,' I blurted out whilst removing my hands from my side to reveal the deep red stain._

'_Quick; into the kitchen and we'll fix it there,' Mariette said; taking a hold of my hand and pulling me into one of the downstairs bathrooms._

'_What am I going to do? The ball is tonight and Mother will _never_ forgive me for using her makeup and for ruining my dress!' I cried hysterically as she released my hand and closed the door behind us._

'_Don't worry so much honey; I have an old remedy that should remove by the time your parents get home tonight,' Mariette assured me, before turning me around and unfastening the zip; the dress falling to the ground and I breathed I sigh of relief at finally having the thing off of me._

'_Thank heavens it's off; I thought I was going to drown in a pool of daffodil yellow and no one would ever find me again,' I said which caused Mariette to laugh as she picked me up and sat me on the countertop before pulling out a can of hairspray from underneath the bench._

'_You didn't do this on purpose, did you Mitchie?' she asked curiously with a smile as she began to spray onto the lipstick mark._

'_I may not have liked the dress Etty; but if it's between living with that dress or dying…I think I would choose the living part,' I answered honestly and watched one of my closest friends at work._

'_Alright then, as long as you didn't do it on purpose,' she said as she placed the lid back on the tin and then turned to face me, 'how about we get all this gunk off of your face? You're too pretty to use it.'_

'_If we must…then we must,' I replied with a dramatic sigh that made Mariette laugh as she grabbed a damp cloth and began wiping away at my face._

'_You're one dramatic kid, you know that?' she teased and I nodded my head._

'_Of course I am – do you think my dress will be alright?' I asked though it was hard as she was scrubbing my face to remove the red lipstick._

'_It'll be fine sweetie; we'll let it sit for a few and then soak and it'll be as good as new once it's dried.'_

'_Good; because I'd really rather not die tonight,' I said and smiled at Mariette's funny laugh that usually included a snort of some sort._

'Mitchie, you alright?' I heard someone ask and when I came out of my memory Shane was staring at me with a smile as he waved his hand in front of my face.

'Yes; of course…just remembered something,' I said with a small smile of my own as I plugged the drain and began to run some warm water into the basin.

'Alright then…so who's Mariette?'

'An old friend of mine.'

'Ah…so you sure this'll work?' Shane asked as I pushed the shirt into the water and silently laughed at the little air bubbles that popped up.

'It worked on my dress.'

'So you've done this before?'

'No; this is the first time I've ever tried this remedy on my own.'

'What?! You're trying something out on my eighty dollar shirt?' Shane yelled though once again groaned which had me biting back a smile.

'I promise you that if I wreck your shirt I will go and find you another "Marly Trigger" original,' I swore and Shane seemed to calm down as he resumed his previous slumped position against the mirror.

'Why do you dress like that?' Shane asked after a few seconds of silence and I looked at him with raised eyebrows.

'Like what?' I questioned as I pushed myself up onto the other side of the bench; smoothing out my skirt once I was comfortable.

'With dresses and skirts and…_girly stuff_,' Shane clarified whilst gesturing at my outfit.

'Because I can,' I answered shortly as I shoved my hand into the warm water to push his shirt further down.

'But don't you own pants or shorts?'

'I have tracksuit pants.'

'Then why don't you wear them?'

'I hardly think that tracksuit pants are the appropriate thing to wear to work.'

'So you think wearing something that draws every guy's attention to you is better?'

'What are you talking about, Shane?' I breathed as all his questions were beginning to tire me.

'Nate said that every time a guy walked into the audition room that they would space out for, like, two minutes just because they looked at you,' Shane explained and I shook my head in disbelief as I hopped off the bench.

'Nate's exaggerating,' I said; dismissing his comment with a wave of my hand before internally groaning upon hearing my phone ring.

'Nate doesn't exaggerate; hell he could make a car crash seem insignificant,' Shane said as I grabbed my phone out from one of the inside pockets.

'"Insignificant"? Sounds like someone brushed up on their vocabulary last night,' I teased whilst sending a quick glance at the last two numbers of the call before ending it.

'Yup; I read a dictionary,' Shane shot back with a cocky smile and shoved his chest out in pride.

'Did it have pictures?' I threw back as I hastily stowed my phone back into my bag; an action that unfortunately did not go unnoticed by Shane.

'Only on the front cover,' he answered with a smile as he jumped off of the bench and then the smile dropped from his tan face and his eyes narrowed slightly as he threw a glance at my black bag, 'you have a lot of secrets don't you?'

'Me? Secrets? No…I'm as ordinary as an everyday Plain Jane,' I scoffed though Shane seemed to see right through my lie.

'You're gonna have to tell us about your life sooner or later,' Shane said and I nodded my head as I picked up my bag and hung it over my shoulder.

'I think I'll choose later,' I said with a small smile as I looked down at Shane's shirt, 'we should probably let it soak for a little while longer.'

'Alright; we should probably go find Nate and Jase,' he suggested and I gave another nod before following him out of the bathroom.

_You know I could get use to Shane if he acted like this more often…I wonder if that's even possible – wait am I jinxing it by even thinking it?_

'Hey there you guys are - Nate I found them!' Jason yelled upon seeing Shane and I walk down the hall.

'We were just fixing Shane's shirt,' I explained to the other two halves of Connect 3 as Nate joined us in the almost empty hallway.

'Where'd you get that shirt from?' Nate asked whilst pointing at the blue chequered, flannel shirt that Shane was wearing.

'Some shop called "Wal-mart;" it was ten dollars I think and the guy there even gave me a membership,' I answered with a proud smile that disappeared upon Shane's outburst.

'"Wal-mart"?! I can't be seen wearing clothes from "_Wal-mart_"!' Shane hissed and I doubled over in laughter at how much of a girl he was being.

'Dude; at least it…looks nice,' Jason said in an attempt to pacify Shane.

'Oh my gosh; I have not laughed like that in ages,' I said whilst standing up; a final chuckle escaping my lips as I took in Shane's shocked features.

'Is that so?' Shane asked; his dark brown eyes twinkling with mischievous and I knew he was going to say something that I would regret…I just did not know _what_.

'Yes…what are you thinking of doing, Shane?' I asked carefully and saw out of the corner of my eye that Nate and Jason were equally confused.

'Hey guys; Mitchie doesn't have any other clothes,' Shane said quickly and my mouth dropped open as both Jason and Nate stumbled over their words.

'You have no more clothes?' Nate asked incredulously and I turned to face him; making sure to stomp on Shane's foot whilst doing so.

'I have clothes -'

'No she doesn't; she only has dresses and skirts. We're in one of the coldest months possible and she has no pants!' Shane cried out with a wide grin and there was a small exchange between him and Jason that I could not help but wish I understood.

'Never! No pants? The horror!' Jason yelled and Nate seemed to catch on with what was happening as he joined in with their hysteria.

'We must help her. She shall freeze in the snow if she wears no pants!' Nate stated in the loudest voice possible and all three boys nodded in agreement.

_What on Earth is going on?!_

'We'll help you, Mitchie. There is no need to feel ashamed that you have no pants,' Nate assured me with a sympathetic smile.

'I'm not ashamed -' I started but was once again cut off as Jason continued yelling; which of course started drawing attention to the four of us in the hallway.

'To the shops!' he proclaimed whilst running forward and throwing me over his shoulder as if I was a bag of potatoes.

'Jason put me down!' I screamed whilst reaching my hands out to pull the back of my skirt down so that I would not flash anyone as Jason began running down the hallway.

'You shall never be pant-less again!' Shane shouted out; running behind Jason and I with Nate close behind as some of the office doors around us opened so the occupants could see what the commotion was.

'What are you four yelling about – Jason put Mitchie down!' Brown bellowed from one of the rooms a head of us.

'I can't Brown; she's practically naked at the current moment,' Jason explained to Brown as we ran past him with me still hung over Jason's shoulder; my left fist pounding on his back whilst my right had a firm grasp on my bag strap.

'You're dead, Shane!' I shouted over the brothers' laughter as Brown closed his office door with a shrug and a smile; my only hope of escaping these three boys walking away as if what was happening was normal.


	5. Don't Give UpYou Have Me

_**A/N: Wonder how many of you guys thought I would never update again :) So here's chapter five and it's emotional - majorly. So I'll let you enjoy and please let me know what you thought. It would have been up sooner but I wouldn't to get the perfect little moments here and then so I needed extra time to think it over. Oh and if any of you read Runaway To Find A Home, there'll be another chapter up this weekend.**_

_**I'm back baybeh!**_

_**Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine. Neither are any of the Christmas songs, iPod etc. Peace! :)  
**_

* * *

Oh, all the lights a shining so brightly everywhere,' I sang along with Mariah Carey as I hung a red bauble onto a tree branch.

'And the sound of children's laughter fills the air,' Ella joined in as she stood next to me to hang a glass snowflake before bumping her hips against mine playfully. 'And everyone is singing, I hear those sleighbells ringing,' she shouted into an invisible microphone before holding her hand in front of my mouth for me to take over.

'Santa won't you bring me the one I really need, won't you please bring my baby to me,' I crooned before bursting into a fit of giggles as Ella took over for me.

I watched in amusement as Ella danced over to the box of decorations and grabbed a handful of baubles and a strand of cream pearls before skipping over to me and wrapping the strand around my neck, 'Mitchie you're gonna have to finish it off,' she screamed over the music before quickly running out of the room and returning with a red broomstick.

'What? Why?' I yelled back as she thrust the broomstick in my hand and looked at me as if it was obvious.

'I can't sing and there's no way I can hold that note so it's all you baby!' she laughed as I stuck my tongue out at her whilst tightening my grip on the broomstick.

'Make my wish come true, baby all I want for Christmas…is…you…' I sang; my voice ringing throughout the apartment alongside Mariah's whilst Ella sung the backup vocals.

When the song finally finished I took a big breath of air before collapsing against Ella in laughter; the two of us somehow managing to stay upright despite our bodies shaking so hard. Eventually we sobered up and I looked at the massive tree that we had nowhere near finished decorating.

'Did you have to buy the biggest tree, Ells?' I asked as I realised that we were going to need a ladder to reach the top half as even if we were to stand on a chair we would not reach it by ourselves.

'Well I haven't spent Christmas with someone else in _forever_ and I wasn't about to pass up this opportunity, Mitts,' Ella said; justifying her actions and I could only laugh.

_God this jolly season is getting to me._

'Fine, fine but god…what I wouldn't give to have someone we don't hate here to help us,' I said as I began to swing the pearls around in a circle, kind of like you would with a lasso.

'Hey Mitts, I think your phone is ringing,' Ella said after a few more moments of decorating and upon turning the music down I realised that it was.

'Let it go to voicemail,' I said nonchalantly before turning my focus back onto the tree and grabbing a box of glass ornaments.

'But what if it's work?' Ella asked; her nervous side showing as I gave a shrug of my shoulders whilst picking up a glass dove and eyed the tree.

'If it is important then they will call back at another time, besides it's my day off – it's not like it could be life threatening,' I answered as I stepped forward and pushed the dove onto one of the pine branches.

I continued singing along with various Christmas songs at the top of my lungs as I decorated the large tree and it was only when I noticed that Ella was not singing along with me that I realised she was absent from the room. I curiously looked around the room as I placed the box I was holding down before exiting the room in search for my friend, the Christmas carols slowly growing more distant.

'Ella Bella? Where you at, girly?' I called out and upon hearing a groan, I turned left into the kitchen and found Ella leaning over the dining table. 'What's the matter, chicha?'

'You're gonna kill me,' she groaned as she dropped her head into her hands and I could not help but laugh at her dramatics as I took a seat next to her.

'I could never kill you, Ells.'

'Well then you're gonna hate me forever and ever,' Ella argued as she slowly lifted her head.

'I couldn't hate you even if I tried,' I assured my friend but then suddenly caught sight of what was in her right hand, 'why do you have my phone, Ella?'

'I know you said not to answer it but I couldn't help myself because I kept thinking "hey Ella, the person on the other end could be in a hostage situation and they might be trying to make an emergency call and if you don't pick up then they're gonna be dead", so I had to answer it so I did…'

'Okay then...' I said; trailing off as I waited for her to continue.

'Remember how we had that rule to never invite people from our workplace into our house as it would make our whole "keep the past in the past and the future at bay" idea harder to keep? That didn't apply to your work did it?'

'Oh gosh, Ella, you didn't!'

'Well you said we needed help to decorate the tree!' Ella cried in an attempt to justify her decision.

'I meant little men in green uniforms that smelt like candy canes; not my colleagues,' I explained as I stood up and began pacing back and forth.

'I'm sorry, I mean they sounded really sweet and sincere and it wasn't until after I arranged for them to come over did it click that they aren't _meant _to come over.'

'When do they get here?' I asked as I suddenly stopped pacing and turned to face Ella.

'Um…any minute now? They called about ten minutes ago…did I mention I'm sorry?' she said sheepishly as I emitted a low groan whilst running a hand through my hair.

'Alright, alright…I can do this…I'll just fake sick and tell them it's contagious,' I said as I began to think up a reliable lie.

'That won't work; they heard you singing in the background – maybe this will be a good thing. It's about time we socialise with other people,' Ella mused and I looked at my friend as if she had just grown another head.

'Ella, did you forget how messed up we are? It's hard enough keeping up the lie when I'm at work; it'll be ten times worse when they get here and see no photos of our families or any heirlooms or what not in our apartment.'

'I honestly think this will be good for us,' Ella said as she stood up upon hearing the doorbell ring, 'I'm gonna let them in; if you really don't want to see them that badly then hide out in your room and I'll cover but we don't have to hide from everyone, Mitts…there's bound to be _someone_ in the world who can relate to what we're going through.'

After her small speech Ella left the kitchen and I was once again by myself; thinking over what she had just said.

_Alright. I can do this. I can get through an afternoon with these boys without lying or killing them – I can…I think…alright I'll _try_._

With a deep breath I walked out of the kitchen and down the hall, straightening out my light blue singlet as I did so. When I finally entered the lounge room I found Ella instructing the three males from Connect 3 where certain decorations were meant to go.

'Hey guys,' I greeted with as much happiness as I could muster as everyone turned to face me.

'Mitchie!' Jason cried as he ran forth and quickly swung me around in a hug. Ever since the shopping incident, Jason had become quite comfortable with picking me up and swinging me around though I was still getting used to the close contact.

'Hey Jase,' I laughed as he placed me back on my feet; a slight blush rising to my cheeks as Nate and Shane walked forward, both eyeing my attire with smirks.

'I see someone's wearing pants on their own free will,' Shane teased and I gave him a dead glare as I self-consciously placed my hands against my chequered-clad thighs.

'And for that I'm not going to give you a hug,' I told Shane sternly before greeting a smiling Nate with a quick hug.

'That's mean,' Shane grumbled; his bottom lip sticking out slightly as he crossed his arms against his chest whilst his younger brother laughed at his child-like antics.

'Mitchie likes me better,' Nate sang in childish voice as he hooked arms with me and walked us over to the Christmas tree, 'you ready to get decorating – wait, why haven't you done the top half yet?'

'Ella and I can't reach the top so we're leaving it until we can get a ladder or something,' I explained as I picked up the remote for the stereo and flicked through the songs until "Love By Our Side" started playing.

'The Summer Set – nice,' Jason complimented as he joint Nate and I in front of the tree; Ella and Shane close behind.

'Hey – Ella is it?' Shane asked and I imagined Ella nodded as he continued his question, 'are we allowed to stand on your couch?'

'Yeah I guess but we still won't reach,' Ella said with shrug of her shoulders.

'Boys; it's time for Operation Pinball,' Shane announced over the music and Ella and I both watched in confusion as Shane, Nate and Jason walked over to the leather couch and carried it over so that it was positioned right in front of the tree.

'Did you not hear Ella, Shane? We still won't reach,' I said slowly in hope of my words going through Shane's thick skull.

'Have a bit of faith, Mitch, its Christmas after all,' Shane said mysteriously as he and Jason jumped up onto the couch.

'Pass 'em up Nate,' Jason instructed and next thing Ella and I knew she was being picked up off the ground by Nate and handed up to Jason.

'It's a lot safer if you stay still,' Nate advised Ella as Jason pushed her up on top of his right shoulder and held her there; Ella's face now fully drained of colour due to fear of being dropped.

'Oh my gosh! What are you doing?' Ella shrieked as she finally realised where she was and her hands quickly flung out to hold onto Jason's left shoulder and head.

'Operation Pinball,' Shane answered as if it was obvious and upon seeing Nate taking three steps closer to me I quickly raised my hands to keep him at bay.

'Oh no, pretty boy, I ain't going up there,' I told Nate who merely shook his head as pushed my hands aside and grasped my waist with his hands.

'If Ella's up there by herself then we're gonna be here forever,' Nate explained as he picked me up off the floor, a small shriek escaping my lips as he passed me over to Shane.

'I promise I won't drop you,' Shane swore as he bent his head down before swinging me over his shoulders so that I had a leg dangling on either side of his head; my hands gripping to the top of his arms.

'And if you did drop me, ten bucks says you won't catch me,' I muttered under my breath though he seemed to have heard as he patted my shin with a chuckle.

'Ye with little faith.'

'So why are we doing this?' Ella asked once again and the boys finally decided to further explain what Operation Pinball is.

'When we were younger our parents used to hide our presents for Birthdays and Christmas up in the beams of the garage so we used to do this,' Nate said as he picked up a box of decorations and passed a few to Jason who offered them to Ella.

'Yeah…still not getting why I'm meant to be risking my life here,' Ella said as she took the baubles from Jason with a shaky hand.

'Well we couldn't reach the beams just by sitting on each other's shoulders and if we got out a ladder then they would've definitely known we were up to something so we used to do this.'

'So you had a couch in your garage?' I asked with raised eyebrows as Nate handed up a couple more baubles up to me.

'That's where the pinball came in to play; normally I would hop on top of the pinball machine and Nate would stand on my shoulders as we were the lightest and Jason would be on look out,' Shane further explained and I slowly nodded my head as I began to understand their plan.

'Hence "Operation Pinball,"' Jason added and I looked over at Ella who was still deathly pale and shaking.

'Still don't get why I might die up here…' Ella said and that's when I realised how high up I actually was.

'Wow…this is genius!' I laughed as I shifted myself on Shane's shoulders before leaning forward to place a bauble on a bare branch.

'Oh…that makes sense now,' Ella said shyly and she visibly relaxed after realising that it was not sick prank the boys were playing on her.

'It's what happens when your parents try to outsmart you,' Jason said with a smile and that is when I saw something between Ella and Jason that I had neglected to see when I entered the room; a spark.

Within half an hour we had managed to place the other couches around the tree as well so that is was encircled in leather which meant easy movement for Jason and Shane. The tree was soon covered in decorations and lights with Ella, Jason and Nate on one side adding the finishing touches whilst Shane and I were on the other side.

'You must be getting real sick and tired of holding me up here,' I commented as I tapped a wing of an angel which caused it to spin around in circles.

'Nah; you're light as,' Shane said and I leaned forward slightly so I could see him better.

'As if; I know I'm heavy, boy, no point pretending,' I told him before deciding it was about time I hopped back down to solid ground, 'can you help me down?'

'Sure,' he said as he held a hand up to help me balance as I swung one leg around to meet the other on his right shoulder. Shane then patted my knee telling me it was all clear to slide down, so if a small push off of his shoulders I slid down until my bare feet touched the black leather; Shane's arms tightening around my front when I almost stumbled off the couch. 'It's amazing that you can walk around in those heels of yours without tripping but when you're barefoot for not even an hour you start falling all over the place.'

'That's not my fault; I was raised in high heels and I think I've been barefoot only once before living with Ells,' I said and when I attempted to move away from Shane, his arms tightened around me so that I was pressed up against his chest.

'Who got it in your head that you're heavy?' he asked quietly and it felt as if my heart had dropped down to the pit of my stomach.

'We're back to that?' I joked, trying to find the humour in a potentially serious conversation.

'Who told you, Mitch?' he repeated; his breath hot against my ear.

'_Suck it in more; I can't button up your dress,' she ordered and I tried even harder to suck in every inch of my body though that seemed to get us nowhere._

'_Oh my God what have you been eating? An entire farm?' another one snickered in the large white room where we were all meant to be getting changed._

'_I said suck it in, Michelle!' my Mother yelled and I could not help but let a groan escape my lips as she pulled the material even tighter around my body._

'_It doesn't help that you had a dress made two sizes too small for me!' I argued before gasping as she yanked at the material; slowly losing the capability to fully breathe properly._

'_Please Michelle, we can all fit in it – just admit that you ate something,' the same girl teased and I felt tears prick my eyes though I refused to let them fall._

'No one,' I lied.

'I know you're lying to me,' Shane stated and I was glad that my back was facing him so that he would not see my guilty blush.

'No, no I'm not, Shane,' I lied again; amazed at how easily it was coming to me.

'I don't get you sometimes Mitchie; one moment you're opening up to me about a childhood remedy of removing stains and the next your shoving me away,' Shane growled as he finally released me and I quickly stepped off the couch; my back still facing him.

'I never asked you to come along and figure me out Shane – that was your choice,' I reminded him as I finally turned to face Shane and almost instantly regretted it due to the look he was giving me.

'Hey Mitts; have you seen Nate?' Ella called out from the other side of the tree and I was happy for the distraction.

'No, but I'll go find him,' I answered and was about to begin my hunt for Nate in our apartment when Shane reached out and grabbed my elbow.

'We're not done here,' Shane said sternly and I gave him one of my world renowned death glares.

'_Where the hell do you think you're going?' he demanded as his fat hand wrapped around my thin wrist and if I had not known better I would have thought that he would have broken my wrist._

'_To go see my Grandma; let go.'_

'_You'll go when I want you to go, bitch,' he snapped; the alcohol on his breath washing over me and turning my sick to my stomach._

'Yes we are considering this isn't your place and I wasn't the one who invited you here,' I said quietly as I ripped my arm from his grasp, 'and I already have one aggressive, primitive and dictative man in my life – I don't need another.'

'Mitch -'

'Save your pitiful excuses for your one-night stand tonight; at least she'll believe it,' I hissed before storming out of the lounge room and down the hallway.

I could hear Shane coming after me so I quickly turned into the closest room, which was thankfully my bedroom, and locked the door behind me. With a deep sigh I turned around and was stunned to find Nate sitting on my bed looking through a photo album.

'Nate! Wh-what are you doing in here?' I gasped as Nate quickly flipped the album shut and placed it next to him on the bed before jumping up.

'I was looking for the bathroom but came in here by accident and I wanted to try and get to know you better so I was just looking around when I saw the album sitting next to your bed – wait…why am I explaining myself? I haven't done anything wrong,' Nate said as he crossed his arms against his chest.

'Ah…you kind of did; you came into my room and didn't leave when you realised where you were then looked through my possessions,' I countered as I crossed my own arms against my chest and glared at the younger brother.

'_Mother? What are you doing?!' I shrieked as she started throwing things out of my wardrobe and cupboards._

'_I know you're hiding them – somewhere in here you've got it,' my mother said quietly; sounding incredibly similar to a madman._

'_I don't know what you're talking about!'_

'_Clarice down the street saw you buying all that rubbish – don't lie to me!' _

'_I'm not lying, Mother! Why don't you believe me?' I cried as my door flung open to reveal my Father._

'_When you're finally able to tell the truth you'll get your things back,' my Mother said as she snatched up my phone, laptop and iPod before storming out of the room; leaving my Father and I in the room by ourselves – him giving me an apologetic smile as I kicked my foot against my wrought iron bed; a single tear rolling down my cheek._

'Well curiosity got the best of me and it's not like you have that many things anyway; besides you kept the album out on display – you wouldn't have done that if you didn't want anyone to see it,' Nate justified as he returned my glare.

'It's my stuff regardless of where they may be and what is with everyone today?! Is it "Attack Mitchie Day" or something?' I shrieked and I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway.

'What are you talking about?' he asked; his eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

'First Ella's telling me some crap about how "the truth will set me free" and then Shane's coming at me and telling me how I should be seeing myself though I've lived with my own idea of myself for the last nineteen years and it's never really harmed anyone and now I have you snooping around my room – I'm over it!'

'Mitchie, are you alright?' I heard Ella ask from the hallway as someone knocked against the wooden door.

'Mitchie, I didn't know -'

'Nate,' I interrupted him as my eyes fell on the album behind him and I gave a deep sigh, 'it's fine; I'm sorry I blew up at you. I just – I really need…time alone. Do you mind?' I asked as I gestured towards the door.

'Alright but…you know I'm here right?' Nate asked quietly as he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my body and brought me into a tight hug.

I nodded against his chest and after a few more moments Nate finally released me and it was only when he was at the door did I speak, 'hey…can you maybe…_not_ tell them about what you saw?' I asked with my head hanging down; my eyes focused on the cream carpet.

'As far as they know, I didn't see anything,' Nate said and the room fell silent as he unlocked the door before exiting my room.

I quickly walked back over to the door and locked it shut and upon hearing the little "click", my body collapsed into a crumbling heap on the floor; sobs wracking my body as my hands gripped the carpet for dear life.

_What's wrong with me? I don't want to go down that road again…I can't!_

I somehow managed to make it over to my bed as the tears streamed down my face and I grabbed the album off of the bed and my phone out of my pocket and sat cross-legged on the ground before flipping to a page that held a picture of me and the one person I loved more than anyone else. I dialled the number that was written on the side of the picture and waited for the person I was trying to contact to answer. I could hear the distant mumbling of Nate to the others outside of my door and I clearly heard 'she needs space' coming from the youngest member of Connect 3, but then someone finally picked up and everything became insignificant in the world.

'Who is this? How'd you get this number?' the voice quickly asked in a hushed tone and I tried my best to control my emotions.

'I-it's m-m-me,' I stuttered through sobs as I raised a hand to brush away the dampness from my cheeks.

'What happened? You know you shouldn't be calling here unless it is an emergency – they might find you,' the voice lectured though I knew it was because of love, not in an attempt to tell me off.

'It is – I'm slipping again,' I whispered as my eyes glared at the picture just below the one I loved the most.

'You can't let yourself do that – you're better than that my sweet, sweet love.'

'I don't know what to do,' I whimpered before going into a coughing fit from the lack of air mixing with tears.

'You're strong; you can do this. I can't speak right now my sweet but don't give in…hang on,' and with that the line went dead and I was left in my silent room.

I ripped the picture out of the album and glared at the girl in it with all the hatred I could muster, 'I'm better than you – I am. I don't _want _to be like you,' I spat as I gripped the photo in the middle and ripped it.

'I don't _need_ to be like you,' I said, more in an attempt to reassure myself than anything else, as I ripped it into quarters; the girl in the photo slowly being torn to shreds.

I dropped the torn pieces of photograph onto the album as I stood up and shakily walked over to the mirror, 'Mitts; there's food out here when you want it…it's getting late and we thought you might be hungry,' Ella said from outside though I ignored her as I instead put my hands on my waist seeing where I was at. I then slid my hands down to my hips and measured there too; the smell of pizza wafting through the gaps in the doorway. I guiltily took a deep breath before once again looking down at my hips and my lower lip began to quaver and my vision blurred.

'I'm not better than her…I'm still the same,' I said softly to myself; my voice cracking with emotion at the end as fresh tears fell from my eyes.

_I guess there's more to running away from home than just leaving the house you grew up in…_


	6. So Kiss Me Beneath the Mistletoe

**_A/N: Here ya go. Umm...any thing that seems like it's just been cut off or started but ignored in this chapter will be further explained in chapters to come as this will be a two-part chapter; as in the work party will be split up into two chapters._**

**_Axel Turner. Mistletoe. Singing. Oh my._**

**_Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story are in no way mine as they belong to Disney and 'Camp Rock'. The "Yes Man" idea comes from Jim Carrey's movie 'Yes Man' so that isn't mine either. I don't own Alex DeLeon because supposedly kidnapping a rockstar and hiding him in your house is illegal and "Kiss Me" is Sixpence None The Richer's song, as noted in the story.  
_**

* * *

'Mitchie. Mitchie? Mitts, c'mon I needa talk to you,' I heard Ella call from the other side of my bedroom door but all I could muster was a groan due to the lack of sleep. 'Oh come on, Mitts...don't make me go downstairs, talk to the landlord and get a spare key – it's been four freaking days – enough's enough.'

'I'm fine, Ella,' I replied whilst attempting to untangled myself from my bed sheets.

'Mitchie, Brown rang – it's important. You've got a lot of people worried,' Ella said and it was the pang of guilt I felt that finally compelled me to open my bedroom door.

'I'm fine, see?' I said when I came face-to-face with my friend though I started to regret the decision due to the look of concern on her face.

'If by fine you mean you look like you got hit by a tornado, then yeah...you're fine,' Ella muttered before pulling on a loose strand of knotted hair, 'haven't you been showering?'

'Elle, you know I haven't left my room,' I grumbled whilst taking a step away from her.

'Yeah but I figured you would have at least snuck out whilst I was showering or something to have a shower...I mean haven't you needed to go to the bathroom or anything?'

'No, I haven't drunken anything for a while and...I dunno...just haven't needed to,' I answered with a shrug of my shoulders.

'That's it; I'm holding an intervention,' Ella announced to the quiet house as she grabbed my hand and tugged me alone the hallway; only stopping at her bedroom to grab her iPod before continuing her mission.

'What are we doing, Ellie?' I groaned as she pulled me into the bathroom before gesturing for me to hop up onto the counter top.

'Well apparently you have a Christmas Work Party tonight and if you had of answered your phone you would have known; the boys will be dropping by in about four hours to pick us up and we're going to go out and socialise and I refuse to let you try and make friends whilst you wreak of BO.'

'I don't smell _that_ bad,' I muttered whilst hopping up onto the countertop as Ella began to fill the deep, white sink with warm water before grabbing a facecloth out of the cupboard beneath the bench.

'Please; you'd make a skunk jealous of your stench,' Ella shot back as she dropped the cloth into the water than grabbed a few bobby pins; making sure to pin back the hair from my face.

'I can clean myself,' I reminded my friend as she wrung the cloth out before she started wiping away the grime from my face.

'Don't trust you; this is a big event tonight according to Brown, he said something about the whole building being there, and you need to show these people what you're made of.'

'You're not bathing me but,' I said in defeat; realising that Ella had my best interests at heart.

'There we go; I can actually see your skin rather than grey muck,' Ella said happily after a good ten or so minutes at washing, cleansing, scrubbing and toning my face.

'Gee, you sure know how to boost a girl's self esteem,' I replied sarcastically.

'We're seriously going to need to bash that sarcasm out of you by tonight; not everyone can catch it as fast as I can, Mitts,' Ella informed me as she knelt down and grabbed a large, white pot out of the cupboards then placed it onto the bench before plugging it into a nearby power point.

'What the hell are you doing?' I asked as my eyebrows furrowed with confusion at seeing Ella pull out a few paddle pop sticks.

'Waxing.'

'Ella, you're not going to wax me,' I stated as clearly as I possibly could.

'You don't have a choice lovey, I'll tie you down if I have to; you're not going to the party as a hairy gorilla.'

'Why do you keep insisting that I look and smell so bad?' I groaned though succumbing to Ella's silent order to lie down across the bench; placing my head on a pillow that she had conjured from the cupboard.

_What else does she have in that bloody cupboard that I don't know about and how have I not noticed this before?_

'Look Mitchie, you know I don't exaggerate so just...let me fix you up please,' Ella begged as she tested the white wax against her wrist.

'Alright,' I sighed before lifting up my left arm and closing my eyes; awaiting the pain that would come when Ella ripped the soon to be hard wax from my arm pit.

'So...how are you going?' Ella asked after finally finishing my left arm.

'You're not going to try and figure out about what made me hideout?' I questioned whilst lifting my right arm.

'Figure out what?' Ella asked as she spread out a thin layer of hot wax on my arm.

'You know what I'm talk-ow!-ing about Ella,' I winced as that particular rip had hurt more than the previous few.

'Sorry; there weren't as many as there were on the other arm so I figured out I might as well try and get it done in one strip rather than multiple – save time and what not,' Ella explained before walking down to my legs and rolling my tracksuit pants up to mid-thigh.

'Gah! Is this necessary?' I asked as she changed over the wax to one of a green-ish colour.

'I'm guessing you haven't seen your legs lately,' Ella laughed before stirring a second stick around in the pot.

'You still haven't answered my question, Ellie,' I reminded her as she applied some wax to my leg before pressing a calico strip against it.

'Oh, sorry,' Ella apologised quickly when she saw me flinch as she ripped the strip off of my leg, 'I know why you did it...so why would I ask?'

'You don't know why I did it -'

'Pregnancy scare, call from William or someone from home, eating problems – take your pick,' Ella counted off on her fingers, taking a quick break from my torture before resuming her task, 'but if I had to say it I'd say the latter was the most likely.'

'What? H-how did you know?'

'You locked yourself away with no food for five days and by the way you didn't succumb to any of the dishes the boys and I left at your door...I'd say that it wasn't your first time.'

'The-the boys were here?' I stuttered at the thought that my colleagues would care so much as to actually come over to Ella's apartment to check on me.

'Yup; been here every morning and every night – I couldn't tell which brother was the most worried about you,' Ella said; chuckling to herself before tapping my leg to let me know it was alright for me to sit up.

'Oh gosh...they are going to be asking so many questions tonight,' I mumbled to myself as Ella stood in front of me; staring at my face which made me feel oddly uncomfortable.

'You're one lucky chicka, Mitts, not a single hair has grown back in your eyebrows yet and don't worry about the boys...I told them to not ask anything and that you'd tell them when you felt like it was the right time to tell them.'

'Wow...thanks for all of this, Ella Bella,' I said gratefully as I hopped off the bench and wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug.

'What are sisters for, huh? Have a shower and wash your hair; I've got a dress already picked out and while you're in the shower I'll hunt down some shoes for you,' she said whilst releasing me from the hug before exiting the room.

'They're late – maybe we're not invited – this dress looks horrible – why did I even agree to this?' I mumbled as I paced back and forth in the living room.

'Chill out, Mitchie, you're giving me a migraine,' Ella complained as she entered the room.

'Wow, Ella, _someone_ dressed to impress tonight,' I teased upon taking in my best friend's attire.

'Well considering I'm representing _the_ Marley Trigger I figured I'd better do him justice,' she joked before turning in a circle to show off her emerald green dress.

The colouring of the dress emphasised Ella's natural tan whilst the tight fitting bust with a sweetheart neckline showed off her best features without being inappropriate for a work party. The bottom of the dress fell from the waist and stopped just above her knees. She had chosen to wear silver platform heels that matched the multiple silver bracelets that hung around her wrists.

'Fair enough,' I said with a smile before focusing my attention back onto the front door, 'they're late.'

'No they're not,' Ella said whilst walking past me to pick up her silver clutch from one of the couches.

'Ah...yes they are; you said they'd be here at six – it's almost half past.'

'Yeah I lied,' she explained before laughing at my shocked face, 'relax chicka; I didn't know how long it would take to get you ready so I just fudged the time a little. They should be here any second now.'

'Have I mentioned I hate you?' I mumbled before grabbing my gold clutch from the counter next to me.

'Not in the last hour,' Ella commented as the buzzer sounded.

'Gah! I'm so not ready for this,' I grumbled as I brushed out any wrinkles in my dress though I knew there was none as I had yet to sit down.

'You look beautiful, Mitchie, honestly.'

'You have to say that – you made the dress,' I reminded her as she opened the door so that when the boys finally landed on our floor they could waltz right in.

I looked down at my dress and I had to admit it was pretty. It was a creamy white dress that a couple inches above the knee. It was made from some kind of light material and had a deep plunge in the neckline to my waist but to stop it from being revealing Ella had sewn another type of material down the middle; this one being slightly thinner than the remainder of the dress. The waist came in tightly with a strip of satin that matched the colouring of the remainder of the dress before falling into a two tiered skirt. Ella had then let me borrow a pair of her golden sling backs that allowed me to accessorise in gold as well.

'You ladies ready to rock around the Christmas tree?' I heard Jason holler as he entered our apartment wearing a basic black suit with a green satin tie.

'Jason would you stop with the lame Christmas sayings already?' Nate groaned as he joined us in the apartment with Shane following close behind; both wearing suits similar to Jason though with red and gold ties respectively.

'I can practically feel the holiday spirit bouncing off you, Nate,' Ella laughed as she walked over to the wooden coat rack and grabbed her black overcoat from it.

'What if I told you how beautiful both of you guys looked? What that boost my candy cane points?' Nate asked as I slid on my grey overcoat over my outfit; not knowing whether or not to intervene in the conversation in fear of the focus turning on me.

'Nathaniel, flattery will get you everywhere,' she said with a smile before hooking arms with Jason and exiting the apartment.

'You ready, Mitch?' Shane asked; finally opening his mouth and actually saying something.

'Um...yeah...' I answered awkwardly as I walked forward to where he and Nate were waiting.

'Shall we?' Nate said whilst offering his arm to me.

'You're really not going to interrogate me then?' I asked quietly as I kicked the ground with my heeled foot.

'About what?' Shane enquired innocently as he also raised his arm for me to take and if it were not for the way the corner of his mouth lifted up into a crooked smile I would have actually believed that he had no idea what I was talking about.

'So what exactly is happening tonight?' I asked; deciding to change the topic.

'Basically tonight is where the entire building comes out to play. Everyone from Lava will be there and they're all gonna try and make you feel like you're nothing compared to them,' Nate began to explain and I could almost instantly feel the nerves begin to move around me stomach, 'but it's normally not too bad – just stay away from Tess.'

'How am I meant to know which one's Tess?' I asked as Nate pressed the elevator button with his free hand seeing as Ella and Jason had already headed down to the lobby.

'Don't worry; she's not that hard to miss,' Shane said with a reassuring squeeze of my arm, 'she'll be the one that manages to out glitz all the Christmas decorations.'

'Another diva; just what I need,' I mumbled under my breath just as the elevator dinged before sliding its doors open.

'Her bite's definitely worse than her bark but s'long as you stick with us you'll be fine,' Nate explained as we walked into the elevator.

'So this is the party?' I asked as we finally entered the building; the bright, twinkling Christmas lights that hung from the ceiling practically blinding me.

'Yeah they like going all out for this time of year,' Jason laughed seeing Ella's slack jaw as she took in her surroundings.

'So guys; same game?' Shane asked after a few seconds of admiration to the decorations.

'Huh?' I asked as I looked between the three brothers whilst Nate and Jason nodded in agreement.

'No point breaking tradition now,' Nate said with a shrug before bumping shoulders with me; a cheeky smile playing on his lips.

'What game?' Ella enquired as Jason slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a sidewards hug.

'But the girls have to be a part of it otherwise it's just awkward,' Shane commented; his eyes never once leaving me since we entered the party.

'Hopefully you are talking about those scantily clad girls over there,' I said whilst point at a small group of girls wearing short, form fitting dresses, 'because this girl isn't getting involved in anything.'

'Here, here!' Ella cried which caused a few of the partygoers to look our way in confusion.

'Don't worry; we'll give you easy tasks,' Jason laughed though his promise did nothing to ease my worries.

'I'm thinking Ella should be the social butterfly,' Shane suggested and Nate nodded his head whilst Jason looked slightly doubtful.

'That's a bit rough for her first time.'

'Nah...it's better what we got and you can just stick by her side for the night,' Shane said which seemed to make Jason happy as he eagerly whisked her off into the crowd; Ella throwing me one last quick plead for help before she disappeared in the mob of people.

'Now...Mitchie,' Nate said thoughtfully as his index finger against his chin.

'Yes well...I'm good so don't worry about me,' I said quickly as I began walking off.

'Not so fast,' Shane said and I suddenly felt his warm hand wrap around my arm as he dragged me back into our little group, 'I think Mitchie should be the "Yes Man" of tonight.'

'Whoops, no can do you see as I'm a girl which clearly defeats the purpose of being -'

'I like it,' Nate said; interrupting me with a mischievous smile.

'I have a feeling there's no getting out of this right?' I asked with a grimace as Shane laced his fingers with mine; not that the action grossed me out, it actually did the complete opposite, but rather because I knew that there was no winning when going against Nate _and_ Shane.

'Yup, you'd be correct in thinking that,' Shane said before casting a look over at the dance floor, 'I should probably get started on mine.'

'Wait! You didn't explain what I have to do,' I hissed at Shane as he tugged me away from Nate and towards the dance floor.

'It's simple; any questions, favours, dares or any of that kind of stuff that are asked of you tonight you have to say "yes". Now don't pull that face – you're gonna have fun,' Shane insisted before twirling me around and placing his hands on my waist to stabilise me when I stumbled in my heels.

'I cannot believe I am agreeing to this,' I mumbled under my breath as I placed my hands on top of his shoulders as we swayed back and forth to the music, 'alright; I'll go along with it but what does everyone else have to do?'

'Well I shouldn't be telling you coz that's against the "Christmas Party Code" but I'll give you hints on what each of our missions are,' Shane said whilst moving his hands from my waist so that one rested on my left hip whilst the other was placed on the small of my back, 'Jason's is something only he can _legally_ do at these kinds of functions, Nate's involves his vocals and mine means I'm probably gonna be all sweaty by the end of the night.'

'Hmm...' I hummed as I looked over his shoulder to where Jason was standing with Ella along with Brown and a few other people I did not recognise.

_Something only he can do legally...what the hell is that meant to be?_

I was about to give up on figuring out Jason's mission when I saw him pick up a glass from a silver tray marked 'alcohol' and replacing it with his empty glass.

'Got it,' I said happily as I refocused on Shane with a proud smile, 'Jason's is to get intoxicated; I mean he's the only one of 21 which means he can legally drink.'

'Very good, Torres,' Shane said with a smile before nodding his head to someone behind me, 'what about Nate?'

'Give me a few,' I mumbled as I turned around so that I could observe Nate better as he mingled with a couple men in formal suits.

'You don't need to watch him that closely,' Shane grumbled as I pushed some hair behind my ear; frustrated that Nate did not seem to be talking which made figuring out what his mission was that much harder.

'What; you jealous that I'm watching your brother and not you?' I teased as I threw him a playful smile over my shoulder before continuing watching Nate.

'Pfft, no,' Shane scoffed and I suddenly felt his hands on my hips as he pulled me close to his front; the abrupt movement brought a gasp to my lips and a blush to my cheeks.

'Let me guess; your mission is to shag as many girls as your possibly can,' I murmured as I swung my elbow back and smiled when I heard Shane curse under his breath, telling me that I had hit my target.

'What the fuck was that for?' he demanded as I shoved his hands off of me and watched him as he gripped his ribs in pain.

'For trying to feel me up; look just because your mission involves that kind of stuff does _not_ mean you have any right to try and do any of it to me,' I spat as I crossed my arms across my chest before puffing my cheeks out as I took a deep breath, 'I knew it was a mistake coming tonight.'

'Um...excuse me, I was wondering if I could cut in,' a deep voice asked and I spun around to see a tan, black haired man looking at me.

'Me?' I squeaked as my hands fell to my side in shock causing the man to chuckle at my reaction.

'If that's alright because I didn't exactly plan on dancing with the cripple when I came over,' he said whilst gesturing at Shane.

'Uhh yeah, sure; that'd be nice,' I said with a smile of my own as I took his offered hand.

'Mitch -'

'_Don't _act like what you did wasn't inappropriate,' I hissed before following my new dance partner to the other side of the dance floor.

'I'm Luke Wilson,' he said as he placed his hands around my waist and brought me close to him; much closer than Shane and I was before, 'and you must be Mitchie Torres.'

'What – h-how do you know my name?' I stuttered whilst trying to hold down the vomit at how badly his breath smelt.

_Oh God; has he _not _heard of a breath mint?_

'You and you're voice are the talk of the building – I'm surprised you haven't been swarmed with the suits yet.'

'Oh? Wow...I don't know whether that is a good thing or bad,' I said trailing off as I looked over at where the men in suits were conversing with Brown and another man who looked oddly familiar.

'So...what do you think of my music?' Luke asked; his question breaking me out of my trance as I tried to remember where I had seen the man before.

'You sing?' I asked with raised eyebrows as he did not exactly look like the singing kind of guy.

'And dance – so whaddya think?'

'I've never heard your music before, sorry,' I explained before something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and when I turned my head I was surprised to see Nate waving his hands at me, telling me that he, Jason and Ella wanted to talk to me.

'That's funny,' Luke said; his hands trailing further down my body, 'but _everyone's_ heard my music.'

'If you're hands get any lower you're gonna have trouble reproducing,' I warned though he ignored me and instead placed his hands on my rear end. 'You know what, as fun as being groped by you is,' I said sarcastically as I shoved him away from me, 'my friends wants me, so have a great night Luke Wilson.'

'You don't look very happy,' Jason commented with a goofy laugh as I joined their little group.

'You wouldn't be either if you had been felt up twice already – I mean I thought this was a Work Party not an orgy,' I complained which made Jason choke on his drink whilst Nate and Ella burst into a fit of laughter.

'If you haven't noticed Mitchie, Lava doesn't exactly sign older people actually I think the oldest person they have signed was 24,' Ella said and I was taken aback with how much she knew about Lava Records, 'don't look at me like that. I've been talking to the few suits that are here for the last half hour – you'd be amazed at how many trivial facts you pick up in that amount of time.

'I'll take your word for it,' I said with a smile before remembering that they had called me over to talk, 'so what did you want me for?'

'I got the worst news possible, Mitts,' Ella began causing a groan to escape my lips as I shifted my weight from one side to the other; waiting for her to continue, 'Trigger's been invited to a fashion show in Milan.'

'That great news, Ella!' I cried as I lunged myself onto her in a congratulatory hug.

'There's more to it than just that.'

'You get to take your awesome best friend with you?' I asked hopefully as I pulled myself away from her before beginning to rock back and forth on my heels.

'Mitchie,' Jason groaned whilst he slapped a hand across his eyes after sculling the remainder of his drink, 'you're moving too much – you're making me feel sea sick.'

'Oh, sorry,' I apologised as I ceased my rocking before focusing my attention back on Ella.

'No, sorry, but that's not the bad news – they need me over there immediately; as in yesterday,' Ella said with a sad smile as she waited for me to click onto what she was saying.

'So you're gonna miss Christmas?' I asked sadly; all happiness from before completely gone.

'And your birthday,' she said before shrugging her shoulders, 'I can bail if you want.'

'Are you kidding? You are not gonna decline Milan's offer because of me...I'm guessing you have to go home and pack, right?'

'Yup, but I'll call when I get there and keep you updated about the happenings.'

'Alright, just let me go say bye to Shane and we can leave,' I said and was about to turn to leave when Ella's grabbed my arm and dragged me back to our circle.

'If I can't cancel Milan because of you, then you can't bail the party because of me – it's only fair,' Ella said with a smile as she brought me into a goodbye hug, 'though I want _all_ the details when I call you next.'

'Alright, alright; deal,' I laughed as I hugged her back tightly.

'I'll walk you out,' Jason said with a goofy grin as he hooked arms with Ella and escorted her from the party.

'Is it safe for him to be going outside?' I asked Nate; remembering how much he had already drunken.

When I got no answer I looked at Nate to find him nodding his head and I looked at him curiously and was about to further question him when we were interrupted.

'Uh hi...I-I was wondering if you'd wanna dance with me – that is if you guys aren't busy...or dating...oh God please don't say you're dating because I'd rather not look like a complete idiot,' a pretty, dark haired girl asked Nate; a red tint gracing her cheeks as she awkwardly ran her fingers through her hair.

She and I both waited for Nate to answer though he refused to talk and I sighed in annoyance, 'don't worry, we're not dating we're just friends and I'm sure Nate would love to dance with you,' I assured the girl though was shocked when Nate started frantically shaking his head 'no'.

'Oh...um...okay...this isn't awkward at all,' she laughed as she started taking a couple steps away from us, 'have a great night though.'

I waited until she was out of hearing distance before firmly whacking Nate across the head and a glaring at him, 'what the hell are you doing? You just embarrassed the poor girl – you could've at least said something.'

'I can't talk,' he sung and I clamped a hand across my mouth to muffle the laughter that threatened to burst out.

'What on Earth are – oh my God that's your mission isn't it? You have to sing everything!' I cried triumphantly though quieted down when a few people nearby gave us weird looks.

'Exactly,' Nate sang and I shook my head in disbelief.

'So if Jason's drinking because he's legal then I'm guessing you're singing because you're normally the quiet and formal one right?' I asked and he nodded in head in confirmation. 'So did you actually want to dance with that girl?' Another nod. 'I'm guessing you want me to go talk to her for you,' I said with a roll of my eyes when he started nodded frantically, 'you owe me _big_ time for this one, Nate.'

'I'll pay you back later,' he crooned and I had to bite down on my lip to hide the laughter as I walked away from him and in search of the pretty girl from before. 'Uh...hi,' I said, tapping her on the shoulder when I finally found her.

'Hey,' she replied quietly and I took a deep breath; knowing it was going to take a lot to convince this girl that Nate was not the jerk of his family.

'Alright so I think I need to explain something about Nate,' I began as I fiddled with my fingers, 'you see him and his brothers supposedly have this tradition for work parties where they each have their own mission that they have to complete all night long...if that makes any sense...anyway. What I'm trying to say is Nate is a really great guy but because of the stupid mission he has to sing everything he says; he wanted to talk to you but he thought he'd embarrass you.'

'So he has to sing_ everything_?' she asked with an amused smile.

'Yeah and as he isn't really the outgoing type...it's hard for him; he acts cool but he is really just a dork and he is so going to kill me if he finds out I told you that.'

'Don't worry, I won't say anything. So I'm guessing it's probably not the best idea to go up and talk to him now, huh?'

'Not if you don't want to look like a complete bitch,' I said with a shrug as she took out her phone.

'Do you have his number? I'll talk to him after tonight if he wants,' she said with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

_Hmm...would he mind if I gave out his number to some random girl? Well my mission is to always say yes...can't exactly go against it, now can I?_

'Yeah, sure,' I said happily as I took out my phone and gave her his number, 'um what's your name sorry?'

'Dana Turner,' she answered before giving me her number so that I could tell Nate later.

'As in Axel Turner's daughter?' I asked; my stomach feeling like it had dropped to the floor.

'Yeah, you know my Dad?' Dana asked with raised eyebrows.

'Kind of,' I said cryptically as my eyes roamed the room before falling on the suited man that looked familiar from before.

_Shit. This is not good. I _knew_ I shouldn't have came tonight!_

'Oh cool, you wanna go say hi? He loves running into people he knows,' Dana laughed though I quickly shook my head.

'Um no thanks, I should really get back to Nate and I think I might have to leave early tonight but next time, alright?' I offered before quickly turning on my heel and power walking back to Nate.

'Alright; her name's Dana Turner, she's gonna talk to you tomorrow or something like that and here's her number,' I said hurriedly as I shoved my phone into Nate's hands, 'I'm going to head home also.

'You can't!' Nate belted out and I literally took a step back at how loud he was.

'Look Singer, I have to go; besides I'd rather not return to an empty house at 2 in the morning.'

'You're coming home with us, that's why Jason's taking Ella home so she can get you an overnight bag,' Nate explained whilst managing to hit amazing notes with his voice.

'Why can't I just go back to the apartment?'

'Because you're coming to the country with us.'

'What?'

'We can't let you celebrate Christmas and your birthday by yourself so you'll be coming back to the Grey family house for the holidays.'

'Nate, that's really nice but I can't interrupt your family holiday,' I said as he grabbed my shoulders so that I would look at him rather than around the room like I previously was as I had to make sure Axel was not anywhere near me.

'It's too late, we've got it all planned out – you're gonna love Christmas with our family. Dad goes all out with the decorations on the front lawn and inside whilst Mum cooks up a feast fit for a King and my little brother, Freddie, helps with the lights.'

'You sure they won't mind that I'm coming along?' I asked hesitantly though I was a little bit excited at celebrating Christmas with an actual family rather than with a room full of business partners and prospective suitors.

'Jason's ringing them on the way over and Mum will love having another girl around,' he promised; still singing with his melodic voice, 'besides you have to come along – you're the "Yes Man" tonight.'

'Alright, thank you,' I said earnestly as I hugged Nate; forgetting about the man from my past who could ruin my future with a just a simple phone call.

'Oh and I figured out how I'm going to reimburse you for Dana's phone number,' Nate sang quietly next to my ear.

'Oh yeah? You going to call Alex DeLeon and tell him he has to go out with me?' I joked as we moved out of the hug.

'Even better,' Nate sung confidently as he crossed his arms across his chest.

'Now you've got me curious,' I said as I adjusted the straps on my dress.

'You have to kiss Shane,' Nate said simply and if I had of been drinking something I would have spat it out after hearing what he said.

'I have to _what_?' I demanded with wide eyes.

'You heard me – get to it,' Nate said cheekily as he turned me around and began to push me in Shane's direction.

'But – he- Nate- I can't!' I insisted as my feet touched the dance floor.

'But you _can_ – you're the "Yes Man",' he sung teasingly as I spun around to face him.

'That's not fair – I hate this game!'

'Too bad and don't worry so much; you'll both thank me for it,' Nate said as he gave me a final push before walking away.

'This sucks,' I mumbled under my breath as I slowly made my way over to where Shane was dancing with a pretty red head.

_You can do this, Mitchie. It's only a kiss. Show Nate that you can take risks just as much as the next person. You can do this – at least you know he'll have better breath than that Luke Wilson kid. _

'Uh Shane?' I asked as he turned around to face me with a curious look whilst the red head shot me a death glare at interrupting their dance.

'Yeah; what's up?' he asked as I fiddled with the bracelets on my wrist.

'Can we t-talk somewhere...else?' I asked after spotting a piece of mistletoe above one of the doorways nearby.

_If I'm going to do this I could at least make it look like an idea right..._

'O...kay,' he said uncertainly as he followed me over to the doorway; completely unaware of what I was going to do to him.

'So it turns out I'm going to be spending Christmas with you and your family,' I said; deciding to put off the inevitable for a little while longer.

'Oh yeah?' Shane said with a toothy smile that made my stomach do little somersaults.

'Yeah, Ella has to go to Milan and Jase and Nate didn't want me alone for the festivities so looks like you're stuck with me over the break,' I said with a smile of my own as Shane leaned casually against the door frame.

'I think I could handle that,' Shane replied with a chuckle as I cast a quick glance upwards to make sure the mistletoe was right above us.

I chewed my lower lip nervously which caused Shane to tilt his head to the side; a smile still playing on his lips. The music the DJ was suddenly stopped and I looked over my shoulder to see Nate standing next to the DJ as Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me" started playing.

_I am going to _slaughter_ him later!_

'What's Nate doing?' Shane asked whilst laughing at the choice of music.

'He's trying to win over a girl he met tonight,' I lied smoothly as I straightened out my dress.

'Ahhh makes sense,' Shane said; fortunately buying my lie, 'what's wrong? You look all freaked out.'

'Just...don't move alright?' I said realising it was now or never.

'Huh?' he asked confusedly as wrinkles in his forehead appeared.

'Please don't hold this against me,' I whispered as I stepped forward, placed my hands against cheeks; the stubble on his face tickling my hands as I softly pressed my lips against his.


	7. And The Night Will Go As Follows

**_A/N: there you go. There's still one more chapter for this night to come._**

**_Anyway enjoy and please review; it means so much to me and I love seeing what you guys think of my writing._**

**_Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine like previously mentioned and...neither is the song "Have A Little Faith In Me" - it's just a song that I really love.  
_**

* * *

_Five hippopotamuses, six hippopotamuses, seven hippopotamuses – why aren't you pulling away from him? Nine hippopotamuses. Okay seriously, you _need_ to pull away from Shane this moment. Twelve hippopotamuses; Nate never specified how long you have to kiss him for so you're not even going against the game. Sixteen hippopotamuses – shit he's kissing back! How the hell did I not notice that? Pull the fuck away from him already, Mitchie!_

I was finally able to raise my hands and place them against Shane's chest before pushing him away just as he moved his hands into my hair.

'Uh...s-sorry about that...it's just – w-why are you looking at me like that?' I stuttered whilst Shane continued to look at me weirdly; his dark brown eyes seemed distant whilst one side of his mouth was turned upward in a crooked smile.

'What just happened?' Shane asked with a quiet chuckle; his left hand dropping down to lace with my hand that was still placed against his chest whilst he ran his right hand through my hair.

'What? Haven't you even been kissed before?' I joked quietly whilst looking over my shoulder to fortunately find that there was no one watching us.

'Course I've been kissed before, plenty of times actually -'

'Ew, way to ruin something,' I muttered whilst dropping his hand and stepping further away from Shane.

'But,' Shane added quickly as he grabbed my hand before I could continue walking away, 'you're the first girl to ever catch me off guard.'

'Aww, do I get a trophy?' I said sarcastically as I tried to pry my hand from his.

'I could get you one if you want,' he quipped before joining my side and looping our joint hands over my shoulder; something that would most likely _look _cute though I hated as it made my escape from him that much more difficult.

'Rather than bothering with trying to find me a trophy how about we just forget that this ever happened and go on like we used to? Sounds pretty good to me,' I said hopefully as we slowly made our way back to the dance floor.

'So considering how awkward you're acting, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that someone put you up to this and considering your glare at Nate earlier I'm gonna assume it was him,' Shane said with a laugh as I realised that we were making our over to Nate who was talking to Brown.

_Good, I need to kick that boy._

'Would you mind if I borrow dear old Natey from you, Brown?' I asked Brown politely.

'Uh...sure Mitchie, do I want to know what's going on?' he asked with a concerned look as he gestured between Shane and I and our linked hands.

'No, it's probably best that you don't so that when the police officers come, you can truthfully answer all their questions without having a guilty conscience,' I answered with a sweet smile before grabbing Nate's arm and dragging him away from Brown; unfortunately though Shane came along as well as his arm was still attached around my shoulder.

'Gotta say bro, I love your little mission for Mitchie from before; greatly appreciate it actually,' Shane said to Nate as we positioned ourselves in the corner of the hall; away from prying eyes but close enough to still see whether Axel was coming in our direction though the boys did not know about that part.

'Why thank you, Shane, happy to see it all worked out -'

'Oh would both of you cut the sugary comments already? Must the only time you get along be when you're teaming up against me?' I asked interrupting Nate's little song whilst flicking my fringe off of my face.

'Yes.'

'That sounds about right.'

'Oh I am so thankful I never had brothers,' I muttered under my breath before facing Nate, 'look, I've done your little dare so for the rest of the night you're not allowed to give me anything else to do alright? Don't answer that. I love your voice when you sing but if you don't want a black eye I'd advise you to walk away – _now_.'

'Wow, you definitely know how to crack the whip – whoppa!' Shane said with what I assumed was his attempt at making a whip sound. 'Oh c'mon; Chandler..."FRIENDS" ...do you _not_ know what a TV is?'

'I know what you're talking about you idiot I'm just mad at you and for that I'm not going to talk to you for the rest of tonight,' I huffed as I finally managed to untangle his fingers from mine before flinging his arm off of my shoulders.

'C'mon Mitch, you know you love me and you enjoyed every second of that kiss,' Shane said though I refused to comment. 'Y'know for someone who supposedly didn't like the kiss, you didn't exactly rush to stop it.'

_Because I was too caught up with how soft your God damn lips were._

'I mean, if you had've just pulled away after a quick peck I wouldn't have bothered doing anything. But you,' Shane started; his eyes growing distant like they had earlier, 'you kissed back - that's gotta mean something.'

_That I got too caught up in my stupid thoughts to stop the kiss?_

'So you can deny what happened before and what you felt as much as you damn well want,' he continued whilst leaning closer and the sudden thought of a second kiss popped into my mind, 'but we both know _something_ started back there.'

_Yes, 'something' being the stupid kiss Nate made me do._

'So considering you're still in the "Yes Man" mode I was thinking -'

_That's never a good thing._

'That you and me should be a couple tonight,' he finished with a toothy grin in response to the dirty glare I shot him.

'You think I'm seriously going to date you?' I asked incredulously as Shane once again entwined his fingers with mine.

'Just for tonight and I think you will; I mean what could you possibly say no to?' Shane asked innocently as he gave my hand a quick squeeze before pulling me back towards the dance floor.

'Have I mentioned I _really_ hate you? And what the hell is your obsession with the dance floor?' I demanded after realising that Shane kept dragging anyone and everyone all night.

'If you can't figure it out then I'm not going to tell you – c'mon girlfriend; let's dance,' Shane said with a crooked smile before pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around my back.

'Aren't you worried you're not going to get laid tonight? I mean, if you're spending your time with me...they are not exactly going to faun over you with me here – at least the classy ones won't but then again...classy girls don't leave lipstick marks on their partner's shirts.'

'Are you never going to let me live that down?' Shane whined and I realised that his hand was slowly running up and down my back, though unlike Luke, Shane's hand did not creep me out.

'Well that depends, are you planning on giving up that lifestyle anytime soon?' I asked whilst casually playing with the collar of his shirt as we swayed back and forth to the music.

'Maybe,' he answered with a small shrug, 'you look nice tonight.'

'Thanks but what do you mean by "maybe"?' I questioned; curiosity getting the best of me.

'I dunno, it's kinda like...you can either wait around forever and do nothing to try and find someone or you can actually try out a few people along the way and...something might work,' Shane said in an attempt to explain what he meant though he only left me more confused than before.

'So...what you're trying to say is that rather than staying single and not becoming a womanizer, you're planning on having sex with as many girls as possible in hopes that one of them might be the girl you want to spend longer than one night with?' I said before pulling a disgusted face. 'I'm sorry but that's just disgusting.'

'When you say it like that it is,' Shane laughed before raising his eyebrows curiously, 'so how are you planning on finding "The One" then Little Miss Know-it-all?'

_It's more like how do I convince my parents that the boy they've chosen for me isn't "The One". _

'I don't know but it's definitely not the way you're trying to find them...I guess you just kind of know who it is when the right person comes along. It's like the moment you stop truly looking for someone the right person comes and you have to be fully open to them otherwise you'll miss the chance to be with them,' I rambled as my eyes swopped the room to find Axel leaving the party as I exhaled a sigh of relief.

After a couple moments of silence I realised that Shane had yet to respond and upon bringing my attention back to him, I found that he was looking at me with the same weird look from earlier.

'Why do you keep looking at me like that?' I asked self-consciously as I brushed a loose strand of hair off of my face and behind my ear.

'Just...one sec alright?' Shane mumbled before leaning in and softly kissing me on the lips.

Before I could get too caught up in the kiss I gently pushed Shane away and shook my head with a smile, 'alright, you _cannot_ keep doing that.'

'Considering you're my girlfriend for the night I can, c'mon I know you like it,' Shane teased as he playfully tugged on a strand of hair.

'Okay, now you're starting to sound like some creepy sleaze,' I laughed whilst leaning my head against his chest as we continued to dance.

'That's just part of my charm.'

'Do you have a comeback for everything?'

'Only with you.'

'Wow; cheesy _and_ has unlimited comebacks – you're definitely a keeper.'

'Oh y'know it,' Shane laughed and I felt Shane rest his head against mine and I was about to comment on his cockiness when Brown's voice reverberated throughout the room.

Rather than breaking away from our current position, Shane and I turned slightly so that we could see the stage where Brown was standing without actually having to move and after looking over my shoulder I found Nate and Jason standing beside me.

'Ella's s'all good ands she's gonna call sue when she gets to...there,' Jason said, stumbling over his words which made me laugh.

'Dudes and Dudettes, I'm sorry to say this but the night's sadly coming to an end. I know all you young folk could probably keep going till tomorrow morning but sadly us oldies need sleep. So, in saying that, I want to thank y'all for another great year and have a safe and happy holiday. Oh and try not to get snowed in over the break,' Brown shouted down the microphone whilst the crowd at the party slowly started to disperse.

'We'll just say bye to Brown, then we'll go,' Shane explained from behind me and gave me a slight nudge towards the stage; Jason and Nate following shortly behind us.

'My favourite little Munchkins, had a good night?' Brown asked happily as our small group came to halt in front of him and Dee.

'Let's just say it's been a night to remember,' I laughed as Shane threw his arms over my shoulders from behind and pulled me against his chest.

'Are you two -'

'Honey, I've learnt when it comes to young people, its best not to question their actions,' Brown said; interjecting Dee's question which made Nate and Jason laugh.

'Anyway, we're heading on home so thanks for another great party and we'll see you at Mum and Dad's right?' Shane clarified with his Uncle who gave a short nod.

'Course, we'll see you there – oh Mitchie, can I have a word in private with you?' he asked before waving off the boys and Dee.

'We'll be over at the door...near the mistletoe,' Shane whispered in my ear before releasing me and walking off with his brothers.

'So, poppet, I heard some interesting goss today,' Brown began as I crossed my arms against my chest and raised an eyebrow in question, 'I know, I know; normally I'm the last to buy into that cock and bull but when it comes to my kids I always make sure to listen in.'

'What are you talking about, Brown?' I asked slowly; remembering how I had seen brown talking to Axel.

'One of the other record producers here was talking about their family friends who were looking for their daughter as she seemed to have disappeared.'

'Oh really? Why would he bring up something like that at a Christmas party?' I asked feigning innocence.

'Apparently their daughter had a passion for music and they assumed that she might try and get a job with us to receive some kind of income as she's out on her own now,' Brown explained; carefully watching me for any reaction that I may have to his little story.

'Wow that sounds horrible.'

'It does, doesn't it? Now obviously I haven't heard any news of this girl otherwise I would have done something about it,' he said and it took all my strength to try and keep my facial expressions calm and neutral, 'but as the girl's said to be around your age, I hope she would know the right kind of people to come to should she need help. Although I _never _encourage running away from something, I still hope she's alright.'

'W-why are you telling me this?' I stuttered and silently cursed myself for stumbling over my words.

'Like I said, the girl is around your age and she may seek friendship from someone as nice as you and I was hoping that you could tell her I am here for her if she needs any help – you'd be surprised the kind of connections I have in this town,' Brown said and the small twinkle in his eye told me he knew exactly who the girl was.

'Uh s-sure, if I hear anything I-I'll let you know,' I said as I blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall, 'and I'm sure she's alright. You've got to be a special kind of smart to runaway and make something of yourself.'

'Alright, have a good holiday then Mitchie and I'll see you up at the Gray's soon,' Brown said; all seriousness that was in his voice was now gone and replaced with a happier tone.

'Will do...and...thank you,' I said as I pulled the grown man into a hug in an attempt to show my appreciation to him.

'I'm always here for my kids, poppet, _always_,' Brown said returning the hug before releasing me and giving me a shove towards the boys, 'best not to leave them alone with each other for too long.'

I hung my head so that my hair would fall forward as I made my way back to the boys and subtly brushed under my eyes with my fingers to remove any tears that may have fallen without me knowing.

'S'all good?' Jason asked and I gave a quick nod as we made our way out of the building; Shane's arm resting around my waist whilst Nate was next to me and supporting Jason who kept stumbling over his own feet as we made our way out the building.

* * *

'And when the tears you cry, are all you can believe, just give these loving arms a try, baby and have a little faith in me,' I was walking down the hallway after showering when I heard someone softly singing whilst playing the piano.

I followed the music until I came to a room with the door ajar. I pushed the door slightly and peeped around it to find Shane with his back to the door, playing the piano and becoming fully lost in his music.

'When your secret heart cannot speak so easily, come here darling, from a whisper start, to have a little faith in me,' he crooned and I quietly tiptoed into the room and shut the door behind me. And when your back's against the wall, just turn around and you, you will see. I will catch you, I will catch your fall, baby; just have a little faith in me.'

I carefully made my way across the room, making sure to avoid the various scared sheets of music on the ground so that I would not slip and fall whilst Shane sung the chorus of one of all time favourite songs.

'Well I've been loving you for such a long time, girl, expecting nothing in return just for you to have a little faith in me,' Shane sung; his voice hitting notes I had not heard him hit before as I stood behind him, debating whether or not I had made the right choice to enter the room. 'You see time, time is our friend 'cause for us there is no end and all you got to do is have a little faith in me,' I took a deep breath and made a silent prayer that I was doing the right thing as I stepped over the seat and sat down on top of my left leg.

_Please let this be the right thing to do...please don't let him turn back into the asshole I knew him as._

'...your love will give me strength enough so have a little faith in me,' Shane trailed off; his fingers lingering over the keys for a seconds before he turned to face me.

'You didn't finish the song,' I said quietly; afraid that if I spoke too loud that it would break the little bubble we seemed to be in.

'You didn't knock,' he retorted before looking down at my legs, 'you're wearing shorts.'

'And you're wearing pants,' I commented with a smile as I poked his leg.

'I've liked you being my girlfriend,' Shane admitted; his hand sitting comfortably on my knee as he drummed his fingers against my bare skin.

'Yeah...I'll admit it hasn't been totally unbearable,' I agreed whilst quietly thinking over how the remainder of the night had played out.

'So...I was wondering,' Shane started; the drumming of his fingers had stopped which indicated the seriousness of what he was about to say, 'if maybe you wanted to continue this past tonight.'

I leaned over and grabbed his left hand off the piano and checked the time on his watch before breathing a deep sigh; knowing full well that what I was about to say would not be going down. I sat up off my leg and gave Shane a quick kiss before getting off of the piano seat and making my way over to the door.

'It wouldn't work, but thank you for a great night,' I said honestly as I pushed down on the door handle and opened the door.

'Wait, what do you mean "it wouldn't work"? It's worked all night; what the hell is stopping you from doing this now?' Shane asked; anger edging its way into his voice just like I knew it would.

_The secret fiancé I haven't told you about and the family I ran away from is what's holding me back._

'Well it's only been one night, a great one at that, but who's to say that you won't want a different girl tomorrow or the next day or the day after that?' I questioned in turn as my hands played with the hem of my pyjama shorts.

'Because I wouldn't,' he lamely argued and I gave a bitter laugh.

'You're the one that said earlier you were going to test all the girls possible until you find the one that's right,' I reminded him.

'And who says you're not the right one?' Shane asked; catching me off guard as I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

'And who says I am?' I asked in return before running a frustrated hand through my hair; something Shane mimicked a few seconds later though I doubt he actually realised it.

'Well we're not gonna know unless you give us a try!' Shane shouted causing me to wince as I knew that just down the hall Nate and Jason were soundly sleeping; at least they were meant to be.

'Shane, seriously, it was a good night; please don't ruin it with a fight,' I begged as I dug my fingernails into my leg.

'Fine, fine, I won't ruin what's left of tonight,' Shane dejectedly said as he cast a glance down at his watch.

'Thank you; I'll see you in the morning then,' I murmured as I made my way out of the music room and in the direction of the guest room that I was given for the night.

'Hey Mitch!' I heard Shane yell just as I finally made it to my room.

'What Shane?' I groaned in exhaustion and turned to find Shane running down the hall.

'It's still night,' Shane said when he finally reached me.

'What are you going on about now?'

'You still owe me a minute of girlfriend time.'

'Wha-' I was cut off when Shane forcefully pushed his lips onto mine; his hands moving into my hair almost immediately as he deepened the kiss.

Before I even had a chance to actually register that we were kissing again, Shane had released me and was already making his way back down the hall. I confusedly blinked a few times and suddenly grew nervous when Shane came to a halt outside of a room on the opposite end of the hallway.

_Oh God, I am so digging myself a huge ditch._

'Just so you know, Mitchie...I'm not about to just let this die. I'll win you over soon enough,' he promised before leaving the hallway and entering his room. Leaving me standing by myself; more confused than ever.

_What have I gotten myself into?_

With an exhausted grown I opened the guest room door and stepped inside; making sure to close the door behind me as I really did not feel like anymore unexpected guests whilst I was sleeping. I moved over to my bed as I untied my hair from its bun and was just about to hop into bed when someone interrupted my quiet, sleepy bubble.

'I think we should talk.'


	8. The Best Thing That Will Ever Be Mine

**_A/N: Next chapter. Hope y'all enjoy it. It's going to start getting more interesting I promise as Shane's family gets involved as you'll find out some important things about the Grey family as well as some key characters._**

**_Thanks to everyone that's stuck with this story along the way and with me. It means a lot :)_**

**_Disclaimer: Characters ain't mine neither is Rolling Stones. Pretty sure that's it too.  
_**

* * *

'Holy crap, Nate!' I screeched as hand flew to my chest in shock.

'Jeez Mitchie, why not wake the whole house?' Nate complained as he rubbed his ears whilst giving me a dirty glare.

'Well I'm sorry I didn't expect you to be silently sitting in my room – what are you doing here? Practising your ninja skills?' I questioned as I took a seat on my bed and began to take slower breaths in an attempt to try and slow my heart rate.

'Like I said, we need to talk,' Nate reminded me calmly as he straightened up from the wall he was leaning against and made his way over to the door.

'Let's talk then,' I said simply though Nate seemed to ignore me as he opened the door and walked out of the room.

I waited a few perplexed seconds before Nate's head poked back in the room with raised eyebrows, 'are you coming?'

'Where?'

'Just trust me, would ya?' he said before leaving the room again and realising that he was serious, I quickly jumped off the bed and ran out of the room; making sure to grab my UGG boots on the way as I had no idea where he was planning on going.

_Easy for someone that doesn't have trust issues to say. _

'Nate, wait up!' I hissed as I rushed down the hall to meet up with Nate at the top of the staircase.

'Hurry up, I don't want any followers,' Nate said before grabbing my hand and practically dragging me down the staircase and out the front door.

'Oh my God!' I cried as the early morning air hit my bare legs and arms.

'Do you have to be so loud?' Nate groaned as he unlocked his car with his keys that I didn't even see him grab and gave me a push towards the passenger side.

'Nate, I'm in shorts and a tank top, the ground is covered in freaking snow and I'm pretty sure it's going to start snowing again any second now...I think I'm allowed to scream,' I snapped as I fumbled with the door handle before jumping inside of his car and yanking my UGG boots on, 'would you hurry up and turn the damn heater on.'

'Give me a sec,' Nate mumbled before putting his keys in the ignition and turning his car on; warm air almost instantly blowing out of the vents.

'Oh thank goodness,' I moaned as I leaned forward and placed my hands close to the vents in an attempt to warm my numb fingers.

'This'll probably help too,' Nate said as he leaned behind the front seat and grabbed a thick blanket off of the backseat of his black Ford mustang.

'You are a God,' I praised as I quickly tucked the blanket around my shoulders and under my legs; relishing the warmth that now surrounded me.

'All better?' Nate asked once we were at least a block away from their house.

'Ah-huh,' I mumbled as I stuck my arms out from under the blankets before adjusting my position so that I was facing Nate more, 'so why did we have to leave the house to talk?'

'Because I doubted you wanted anyone else hearing what I wanted to talk about,' he said before flicking his indicator on to turn right.

'Okay then, well what are we going to talk about then?'

'Wait until we get there,' Nate said as he turned the corner and headed down another street.

'Okay,' I said drawing out the second syllable as we fell into a silence that was an odd combination of awkwardness and comfortableness.

I was about to finally break the silence when we suddenly came to a stop outside of a playground that seemed to be empty though it was too dark to tell if anyone was on the colourful equipment.

'You brought me here? Is this where you're going to kill me?' I asked jokingly as Nate pulled up the handbrake, took off his seat belt and turned to face me in his seat.

'Oh yeah, the gun's in the boot; would you mind waiting here while I go get it,' He shot back with a smile that told me he was only messing around too.

'So...what did you want to talk about?' I asked slowly as I drummed my fingers against my leg.

'I started putting bits and pieces together when I got home and...well...I think you need my help,' Nate said quietly as I started picking the skin around my nails in hopes of calming my nerves.

'What – what would I need your help for?' I squeaked which earned me a stubborn look from Nate.

'Look I know who you are; I know about your background and I know that you're the girl Axel was talking about tonight – you're just lucky he forgot your name otherwise the whole party would've been all over you.'

'Wow...you've been busy,' I commented with a weak laugh.

'So...you're a runaway? Why didn't you tell us?' Nate asked quietly and I suddenly felt guilty by how hurt he sounded.

'I'm sorry Nate, but I just figured that the less people that know about what happened and how I ended up here the better it would be,' I explained though even I knew my excuse sounded lame.

'Still...we could've helped you – we _can_ help you,' Nate said; correcting himself as he fiddled with the buttons on his jacket, 'did you even think about how you're gonna get through the airport without being recognised?'

'What do you mean?'

'Mitchie tomorrow will be the first time you're actually out and about with paparazzi around...all the photos are gonna be plastered on the internet and could easily be seen from anyone by anyone from your family.'

'Shit...maybe I shouldn't go through with this. I'll just hang out here when -'

'I've already got a plan to smuggle you through the airport so you have no choice but to come now but there's a few final things you gotta explain before we head home in a couple of hours.'

_Wow...this kid really does think of everything doesn't he?_

'Alright...ask away,' I mumbled as I slid further down in my seat; preparing myself for the onslaught of questions that would be heading my way.

'Do you like Shane?' Nate asked and I was taken aback by his question.

'Wha-what? Out of all the questions you could ask me...you choose that one?'

'Yeah, it's important – so do you?'

'I – I...ye-no...I can't you see,' I spluttered as I pulled at a random piece of hair.

'Why can't you like him? Sure he's an ass the majority of the time but he occasionally means well and considering the fact that we share DNA...he's kinda good looking,' Nate rambled and I managed a soft chuckle as I sat up properly in my chair and grabbed Nate's wrist to try and quieten him down.

_Is he trying to make me fall for his brother? Doesn't he realise how hard it is already?_

'Look, it's not that I can't find anything I could possibly like about your brother...it's...alright if I tell you what I'm about to tell you then you can't tell _anyone_, okay?' I said; realising that it was probably best to clarify the terms before dishing all my secrets.

'I swear I won't,' Nate promised before nodding his head to egg me on.

'So there were a lot of things that led up to finally deciding to runaway but the final straw was finding out that come January 15th I'd be getting m-m-married,' I aid slowly then released a deep breath, 'wow...that gets harder to say each time.'

'Married? As in legally together? As in a white dress and cake?'

'Yes, the whole kit and caboodle,' I spat bitterly as I watched for Nate's reaction to the news; surprised that his face was still relatively calm.

'You – you don't want to but, right?'

'Obviously, it's an arranged marriage that I don't want any part of.'

'Then why can't you like Shane then?'

'I _do _like Shane -'

'Ah-huh! I knew it!'

'Nate, seriously,' I growled whilst giving him a serious look, 'do you want to hear the story or not?'

'Sorry, go on.'

'Like I was saying; no matter how I feel about your brother I can't be with him because not only is he still a womanizer but I'm still engaged to William – I didn't get a chance to call it off before I left.'

'Oh...wow...your life sucked, didn't it?' Nate commented after a few minutes of silence.

'Please, you don't know the half of it,' I muttered as I dropped my head back to hit the head rest.

* * *

'Eurgh! I have not been this tired is so damn long,' I groaned, stifling a yawn as I tugged at the blonde wig that was pinned to my head.

'What are you complaining about? You weren't the one that basically drank your weight in alcohol last night,' Jason complained as he pushed his dark sunglasses further up his nose.

'At least you were able to sleep,' Nate interjected before his mouth dropped open in a large yawn as he readjusted himself in his seat so he could lean his face against the airplane window.

'God, are you three going to complain for the rest of the trip?' Shane demanded as he flicked through the pages of a Rolling Stones magazine.

'Pretty much,' I said casually before once again yanking at the wig that was now starting to irritate my head and throwing an exaggerated smile at Shane who was sitting on the seat across from me.

'Shuddup with the talking already,' Jason whined as he sunk further down in his seat.

'Serves you all right; I slept like a baby last night...full of sweet, sweet dreams,' Shane told us as he shot me a playful wink, causing me to blush as I heard Nate indiscreetly coughing; obviously having caught Shane's attempt at flirting with me.

'Look we've got an hour left of the flight –we all might as well get some sleep because we sure as hell won't get any once Mum gets her hands on us,' Nate said; speaking up from his seat diagonal to mine.

'Finally; someone's speaking logic!' Jason cried out before emitting a loud groan; obviously still feeling the alcohol from last night.

'Jase; that doesn't even make any sense,' I laughed as I turned in my seat to see that he had already fallen asleep in his seat behind me.

I whipped my phone out of my handbag and quickly took a picture of the sleeping boy before turning around to show Nate to see that he had passed out as well. I bit down on my lower lip to stifle my laughter as I also took a picture of Nate; figuring that not only would they make good memories but they may also come in handy as payback.

'Aww Shane, you should see Nate and Jase,' I whispered across the aisle before noticing that Shane also had his eyes closed. 'Wow, you guys suck at staying awake,' I said to myself as I unbuckled my seat belt so that I could walk over and take a better picture of the sleeping pop star.

I managed to successfully snap a picture before Shane's eyelids flew open and he lunged forward and quickly pulled me onto his lap. I gave a squeak of surprise as he wrapped his arms around my waist and smiled at me cheekily.

'I thought you were sleeping,' I hissed as I tried to squirm out of his grip.

'Guess you thought wrong, girl; it's probably a bad that I've missed holding you and it hasn't even been a whole day yet,' Shane mused as he nuzzled his nose against the bad of my neck.

'Shane, you can't do this,' I breathed as he brushed the fake blonde curls away from my neck before pressing a soft kiss on the bare skin.

'I _can_ do this actually; when you become my girlfriend I plan on doing it a lot more,' Shane told me before changing the topic as he pulled at one of my pretend curls, 'why do you have to wear this _thing_ again?'

'What? You don't like me as a blonde?' I asked as I batter my eyelashes innocently; deciding it was best to ignore his first comment.

'Not as much as I like your darker locks,' he said softly before placing a kiss on my jaw.

'Shane, I'm serious...I-I...' I was unable to finish my sentence as Shane had started trailing kisses down my throat found a sensitive spot on the nape of my neck. My eyes flittered shut as my head dropped back in pleasure and I had to practically force myself to swallow the moan that was threatening to escape my lips.

Almost as if I had been doused with cold water; I suddenly realised where I was and who I was with shoved my palms against his chest and jumped off of Shane's lap as I made an attempt to steady my heavy breathing.

'Alright, from now on you have to stay a metre away from me at all time,' I said as I pointed a stern finger at him.

'Hmmm...no, no I don't think I will,' Shane said after having raised a thoughtful finger to his chin.

'You don't have a choice in the matter, Shane,' I said; brushing off his statement as I walked back over to my seat and buckled myself in.

'Ahh see I don't think you realise that it's actually _you _that has no choice in the matter,' Shane shot back as he unbuckled his own seat belt and started walking over to me.

'Can't you stay in your own seat?' I groaned as I ruffled the blonde curls.

'Nope,' he said; making sure to pop the 'p' as he plopped himself down in the seat next to mine before doing up his buckle.

'Whatever, I'm going to get some rest before we land,' I said whilst turning in my seat so that my back was to Shane and I got a nice view out the window to the dark sky outside.

'Sounds good to me,' Shane said happily from behind me and I could hear him shuffling things around but decided to ignore it as I brought a leg up onto the seat and wrapped my arms around it whilst resting my head on the cushiony seat.

I had only just started to drift off to sleep when I felt one of Shane's arms wiggle its way between the chair and my body whilst he placed the other over my waist and upon opening my eyes slightly I saw that he had intertwined his hands so that I had no chance of getting out of his hold.

Realising that all the shuffling he was doing was to push the arm rest out of the way, I decided that it was best to pretend I did not notice his touch or how his warm skin seemed to burn through my clothes. My plan was working quite well and I had started drifting back to sleep until he suddenly pulled me backwards slightly so that my back was now pressed against his front and he rested his face against the back of my head.

'I told you I'm not giving up on you, Mitchie,' he whispered huskily into my ear; his breath causing the fake strands of blonde hair to tickle my face, 'and now I know you want me too.'

I mumbled a few incoherent words in hope that he would think I was actually asleep as I pressed my face further into the chair which only made Shane snuggle closer to me, 'you'll see...we're gonna be perfect...'


	9. I Know I'm Not Alone

'You have absolutely no idea how itchy these things are,' I told the boys once we the door to our limousine had closed; the dark tinted windows no hiding us from the awaiting paparazzi so I was finally able to remove the blonde wig.

'Well you're the one that said you needed it,' Jason grumbled as he stretched himself out lengthways on the car seat and fell back to sleep.

'Yeah, why did you wear that damn thing again?' Shane asked as he pulled out his seatbelt then released it with a "thwack", 'shit! That hurt.'

'Then why did you do it?' Nate asked with an amused smile as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

'Because I thought it would look cool,' Shane mumbled as he rubbed his chest where the seatbelt had hit.

'And how did that work out for you?'

'Not too well...'

Suddenly my phone started buzzing in my handbag so I grabbed it out and quickly unlocked it to see that I had a text message from Nate. I shot a curious look at Nate who was still laughing at his brother as if he had not just texted me before opening the message.

**So wanna fill me in on what went on in the plane whilst I was asleep? Nate**

With a roll of my eyes I opened up a blank message and quickly typed back my reply:

**Your brother annoyed me, I tried going to sleep, he was persistent and eventually we finally fell asleep. Mitchie**

'Anyway so why did you have to wear that stupid wig?' Shane repeated after finally gaining focus again.

'Because I'd rather not be followed around until after the release of my first album,' I explained once again, rehearsing the reasoning behind the wig that Nate and I had agreed upon earlier, as my phone buzzed for the second time.

**And...? ;) N**

'I guess that makes sense – who are you texting, Nate?' Shane asked his brother after realising that his focus had moved from our verbal conversation to our text messages.

**Mind out the gutter Nathaniel – I thought you were meant to help me get over him, not try and encourage it.**

'Caitlyn, she keeps wanting updates on how far away we are,' Nate lied and I was surprised at how quick he came up with something.

'Seriously bro, you two needa sort out what's going on – pronto,' Shane informed his brother who merely gave a shrug as an answer before turning his attention back to his phone.

'Who's Caitlyn?' I asked whilst trying to muffle the sound of my vibrating phone against my stomach.

'Oh shit, Mitchie you're not atheist or the antichrist or anything are you?' Shane asked suddenly; ignoring my question as he threw me a worried look.

'Uh no,' I began as I cast a look down at my phone to realise it was a text from Ella about how beautiful Milan was, 'I'm not an extremist but I've got my beliefs. Why?'

'Good, Mum'll be happy,' Shane breathed; his face visibly relaxing as he slouched back against his chair.

'Oh yeah, I didn't even think about that,' Nate laughed as he tucked his phone away in his pocket, 'you might want to hold on to you chair too, Mitchie.'

'Wha -' I suddenly broke off with a shriek as limousine pulled a sharp turn causing my body to fly forwards onto the bottom of the car.

'We probably should've given you a better heads up about that, sorry,' Shane managed to apologise though his fit of laughter.

'You think?' I shot back sarcastically as I pushed myself up onto all fours before throwing a glare at Jason who was still sound asleep on the seat, 'how come he didn't fly off?'

'Jason's usually coping with a hangover when we come home so he's gotten used to falling asleep and not falling off the seat when we turn into the drive,' Nate explained once he had calmed down from laughing.

'Wait, we're here?' I asked as I scrambled back up to my seat so that I could get a look outside.

'It's not much, but its home,' Nate said, suddenly becoming quite shy about where we were.

'It's beautiful,' I said earnestly as my eyes laid upon the large house that was everything that I had not expected.

Working alongside the boys, I had discovered just how rich they truly were and because of that, and the apartment they currently live in, I just assumed that their parents would have lived in some fancy mansion. Rather than seeing the expensive house that I had envisioned, in front of me was a large house that had an old English cottage look to it. The light layer of snow that had fallen onto the roof and that had built up on the window sills instantly gave the house a type of magical yet welcoming feel – something that my parents' house never had. In fact, the whole appearance and feel of the Grey's family was practically polar opposite to what I had grown up in.

'Holy fricken hell, Nathaniel; you're here!' someone shrieked from one of the open windows on the lower floor and before I even had a chance to identify who the voice belonged to, a petite, brown curly haired girl came hurdling through the front doors, down the porch steps and had flung herself into Nate's awaiting arms.

'That's Caitlyn,' Shane said from my side as we picked our bags up out of the boot of the limousine.

'Who's that?' I asked as I swung my handbag over my shoulder and grabbed the handle of my luggage bag.

'She's been Nate's best friend since kinda though everyone's been making bets on when they're going to get together since they were about twelve,' Jason piped in as he picked up a khaki duffle bag and threw it at Nate's back, 'either get a room and get your stuff; either way quit hogging the pathway and Caity.'

'Hey Jay,' Caitlyn greeted happily as she gave Jason a bear hug before looking Shane over wearily, 'should I be worried that I can't smell cheap perfume on you or that you don't look like you've been suffering a week's long hangover?'

'Ha ha Cait, very funny,' Shane said sarcastically before stretching out his full arms and waving her over for a hug which she obliged to.

'So where's Mum?' Jason asked once Shane had finally released Caitlyn from their hug.

'Yeah, it feels like we haven't seen her or Greg in forever,' Nate added to which Shane nodded in agreement.

'Maybe if you three came home more often then it wouldn't feel that way,' Caitlyn said; her mouth instantly forming a pout thought the twinkle in her eye showed that she was joking around with them.

'Aww did someone miss us?' Nate teased in a baby voice as he swung an arm around her shoulders as she gave a sad nod, 'well then we'll have to make up for it with a snowball fight later but seriously, where's Mum? She's always waiting for us out here when we come home.'

'She's inside resting and once you introduce our guest to me I'll let you all pass,' Caitlyn told the boys as all eyes turned to me.

'Hi I'm Mitchie Torres,' I said with a shy smile as I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

'I'm Caitlyn Geller and seeing as I'm not the President, there's no need to shake my hand; a hug'll do,' she said and true to her word, Caitlyn brushed away my hand and pulled me into a hug.

_Oh God, I hope they're all not huggers. I'm so out of my depth here and it hasn't even been an hour yet._

'Can we see Mum now?' Nate asked once Caitlyn finally released me from the hug and he had resumed his position with his arm around her shoulders.

'Fine,' Caitlyn said with an overdramatic sigh as she tugged my luggage bag out of my hand, 'let me take this for you.'

'Oh no, there's no need; I can manage,' I said quickly as I attempted to grab my bag back only to have my hand brushed away again.

'You're the guest so it's the least I can do,' she said with a bright smile as she and Nate turned around and began walking back to the house.

'Could've at least carried my bag Cait,' Shane shouted to her back which Caitlyn responded with a one-fingered salute over her shoulder.

'I said "guest" Shane, not the Devil,' she added before they entered the house.

'Nice try, Shane; so close yet so _very_, _very_ far,' Jason teased as he patted his brother on the back before following after Nate and Caitlyn.

'I think I'm going to like her,' I mused with a smile as we slowly made our way up the large house.

'Figured you would,' Shane said as he kicked a small mound of snow with the toe of his black boot.

'Yeah, how so?'

'Just thought it'd be my luck that the only two girls who call me out for my shit would eventually become friends,' he explained as he gestured me to go up the small steps first.

'It's a gift,' I said proudly though as I was paying too much attention on being haughty I failed to see the sliver of ice on the final step, resulting in me slipping.

I had expected to fall hard and hit my head on the ground though it turns out my trip was only a small one as Shane was behind me and, thankfully, caught me with ease, 'though apparently grace isn't,' he laughed as his arms hooked under my arm to catch me.

'Thanks,' I mumbled as I tried to hide my blush from him but which was pointless as he saw it anyway.

'Yet it seems charm is definitely one of mine,' he said cockily as he pushed me up onto the landing and upon joining me there wrapped his arm around my waist.

'Shuddup Shane, it's the cold,' I lied as there was no doubt about the fact that my red cheeks were a result of Shane's hands on me rather than the current brisk air that was around us.

'Sure it is,' Shane said with a lopsided smile as he turned to face me, pulling me slightly closer to him whilst doing so, 'but you and I both know you felt it too.'

'I have no idea what you're talking about, Shane,' I insisted though I had a slight idea what he was suggesting.

'All you gotta do is say it,' he said; his voice dropping in volume as he tugged me closer once again so that I could now feel the warmth of his breath on my face as well as see where the wisps of air the escaped our lips collided every time we exhaled or spoke.

'Say what?' I mumbled as I brushed some hair behind my ear as my eyes trailed from his dark brown orbs down to his lips.

'Just say you want me...that's all you've got to say,' Shane told me; his left hand trailing up my back to rest on the side of my neck where he proceeded to play with a few strands of hair.

'I -'

'Dudes, hurry up and get in here! Caitlyn won't let us see Mum till you're both inside!' Jason yelled from inside the house; bursting our private bubble as I sprung back out of Shane's reach before brushing my fringe out of my eyes in an attempt to de-fluster myself.

'C'mon, it's best not to keep a hung over Jason waiting,' Shane advised, his eyes looked upset but only for a moment before being replaced with pure happiness as he took my hand and pulled me along behind him, 'you're gonna love Mum; it's hard not to like her...unless she's telling you to clean your room or yelling at you for losing another sock but even then she's pretty cool.'

I quietly laughed as we entered the house, still not use to being around someone who actually loved their parents, and was in awe over how beautiful the inside of the house was.

'I can't believe you chose to leave this place,' I breathed as my eyes roamed around the hallway, from the wooden floorboards to the delicately plastered walls to the many photo frames that seemed to almost cover every inch of wall space.

'Everyone's gotta leave home at some point but it's cool because when we come home, it doesn't really feel like we ever left,' Shane said as he we finally met up with Caitlyn, Jason and Nate down the opposite end of the hall.

'Alright, so you guys ready to see Mama G?' Caitlyn asked with a wide smile as all three boys gave her looks of confusion and curiosity.

'Why are you making this out to be something huge?' Nate asked cautiously as he eyes the door handle of the white, wooden door in front of us.

'Well there's a reason why we haven't sent any photos to you guys this year, Mum and Greg have been pretty busy with some big changes, so we all agreed that it would be best to leave the biggest surprise till you're all here in person,' Caitlyn answered; her smile seeming to grow in size after each word.

_Why does she keep calling their Mum, "Mum"? _

'Did Mum finally get us our dogs?' Jason asked excitably; almost jumping on the spot at the idea.

'Not exactly though I think this is, like, ten times better than any pet.'

'Did she finally buy me the guitar I -'

'Jason, shut up. The more questions you ask the longer it takes us to see Mum,' Shane said; interrupting his older brother with a whack across the back of his head.

'So you ready to see Mum?' Caitlyn asked and all three boys eagerly nodded their heads as she dramatically turned the handle, 'alrighty then, go on in.'

The boys almost knocked the door off its hinges as they all ran inside of the room and within seconds cries of joy could be heard and I gave a small smile as I looked up at the raised ceiling and wondered if they would notice if I took a little look around their home.

'You can go in too y'know?' Caitlyn said from beside me; her light brown curls bobbing around her face.

'Oh no...it's alright. They've been looking forward to seeing their Mum for a while now so it's only polite to let them have some time alone with her,' I said as I played with the bottom of my long-sleeved t-shirt.

'Denise would be offended if you didn't come in to say hi, c'mon,' Caitlyn urged as she took my hand and tugged me into the room.

'Why didn't you tell us? We would've came home to help out,' Nate said as the backs of the three boys blocked my view of their parents who I assumed were sitting down.

'Exactly why we didn't want to tell you, you're here now, that's all that matters,' a kind, feminine voice explained and I could tell just from her voice that Mrs Grey was going to be a very easy person to get along with.

'Dudes move, Mitchie can't see,' Caitlyn grumbled as she shoved her way between Shane and Nate and pulled me through the gap so that I could see the surprise that Mr and Mrs Grey had for their sons.

It was not hard to find similarities between Mrs Grey and her boys. They all shared the same dark brown hair though the boys had tanner skin than their Mum. It was easy to tell that Mrs Grey was practically made for being a mother because of her round, sweet face that instantly made you feel welcomed and the fact that the large protruding bump from her stomach suited her so well.

Mr Grey, however, was a different story. He had raven black hair and similar skin colouring to Mrs Grey though his light green eyes were something that none of the boys possessed. Even though he was sitting down, there was no denying that he was quite a tall man though he did not seem intimidating.

'Hi Sweetie, I'm Denise and you must be the Mitchie I've heard all about,' she said cheerily as her right hand moved in slow circles over her stomach, 'I'd get up to give you a hug but this old coot,' Denise said tilting her head to Mr Grey, 'says I'm not allowed to move too much.'

Taking that as a hint that she wanted a hug, I walked over to the pregnant lady, bent down and gave her a hug that I had to admit was a little awkward as I tried not to put too much pressure on her belly.

'I'm not porcelain, love, you can put a bit of oomph into it,' she laughed as she hugged me tighter to her chest and I could not help but laugh along with her.

'Well, it's nice to meet you Denise; your home is lovely,' I praised as I pulled away from her with a smile.

'Why thank you, Mitchie, oh and this is my husband Greg,' Denise said, introducing the man sitting next to her.

'I'm not much of a hugger but I'll happily shake your hand if that's alright,' Greg said as he extended a large hand for me to take.

'Sounds good to me,' I said; thankful to not have to give another hug as I was never that good at sharing my personal space.

'Mitchie, have you ever felt a baby kick?' Denise asked and I shook my head no, 'c'mere then – you too Nathaniel.'

I shot Nate a confused glance as he joined my side next to his mother though he looked just as confused as I was.

'Alright, both of you put your hands right...here,' she instructed as she pointed to an area of her stomach and suddenly it clicked in my head.

'Oh I couldn't, that's way too personal,' I spluttered quickly whilst Nate placed his right hand against his mother's stomach.

'Nonsense Mitchie, everyone deserves to feel what this is like at some point in their life and I've had that many people grab my stomach whilst I've been out and about I'd be offended if you didn't,' Denise insisted and I hesitantly raised my hand and lightly rested it against her stomach.

I had only just managed to relax my rigid arm when suddenly something hit the palm of my hand and with a squeal I retracted my hand and quickly looked around at the people in the room who were all laughing at me.

'What on Earth was that?' I demanded as I double-checked my hand to make sure it was not me did it.

'That's the baby you silly goose,' Denise explained with a patient smile as she gestured for me to resume my previous position.

'Doesn't it...hurt?' I asked in shock as I carefully placed my hand next to Nate's who was being surprisingly quiet about what was happening.

'At first but it's more shock than pain though every once and a while he gets a good kick in that's a bit painful but I don't mind,' she said and within seconds I felt another kick under my hand though it did not disgust me as it did the first time.

'Wait, we're getting another brother?' Jason asked from behind me.

'Yes, it looks like there's going to be another little boy running around soon enough,' Greg said and I could hear Shane and Jason high-fiving from behind me.

With a smile I turned to face Nate to find him trying to subtly wipe the tears that were falling from his eyes away without anyone noticing, 'hey, are you alright?'

'Mhmm,' he mumbled before sniffing and I suddenly saw Caitlyn pop up beside him and rest her head on his shoulder.

'He's just a bit emotional right now aren't you, Nate?' Caitlyn said to which he nodded.

'Aww I remember when that was you in there, Natey boy,' Shane said as I felt his body against mine from behind as his arms wrapped around my waist, 'I was two wasn't I, Mum?'

'About that age, yes,' Denise answered with a smile and if Greg and her had not been sitting there and if I was not so keen on feeling another kick I would have elbowed him to remove his arms from around me.

'Yeah, I remember feeling you kick...I thought you were some little monster trying to kill me,' he laughed as he continued his story, 'and then you were born and you were the most disgusting thing I had ever seen; all wrinkly and crying – you looked like a little freak of nature.'

'Yet I still looked better than you,' Nate shot back with a wet laugh before he entered a coughing fit.

I slowly began to relax against Shane's chest as my need for sleep finally kicked it and my mouth dropped open as a yawn escaped my lips, something that everyone seemed to catch.

'Oh you lot must be absolutely tired, go have a nap while I cook up some dinner. The remainder of the family will be arriving from later on tonight till midday tomorrow so there's no need to worry about them and Caitlyn, dear, would you mind showing Mitchie your room?' Denise asked as Greg got up and helped Denise out of her chair with some assistance from Caitlyn.

'Course; I'll give a mini tour on the way up,' Caitlyn assured Denise as she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of Shane's hold, 'lover boy, I assume you still know where your room is?'

'Yupp, s'long as Greg hasn't changed it into a gym or something,' Shane joked before Greg thumped him on the arm.

'I was tempted but Denni wouldn't let me so it's still the same as it was when you left it,' Greg said and I watched in amusement as all three boys turned to face each other with cheeky grins.

'Betcha I can still beat you up stairs,' Jason said cockily as he tousled some of the curls on top of his head.

'Doubt it,' Shane scoffed as he elbowed Nate in the ribs who nodded in agreement.

'Yup, you've definitely gotten a bit pudgy around the stomach area since our last race, Jace.'

'Yet I can still kick your ass so hope you enjoy eating my dust, suckas,' Jason cried before racing out of the room with a war cry.

'He always cheats,' Shane said sourly to Nate who laughed.

'It's the only way he can win and with that – peace out!' Nate shouted before shoving Shane out of the way and sprinting out of the room.

'And the magazines say that _I'm_ the bad boy,' Shane said sarcastically and after rolling his eyes he jogged out the room and attempted to catch up to his brothers.

'Are they always like that?' I asked Caitlyn as she hooked arms with me and we made our way out of what I realised was the study.

'Well they used to be and then they weren't and, well, I guess they are again,' she answered cryptically as we walked up the staircase and my eyes were drawn to the multiple photo frames against the wall.

'What happened during their off period?' I questioned as we came to a standstill half way up the staircase.

'They probably don't want me telling you this but it's probably for the best that you know so if they ask you didn't hear it from me, alright?' Caitlyn said as she pushed herself up onto the rail and twisted her legs through the bars to hold her up.

'Deal,' I promised as I leaned back against the wall then proceeded to slide down until my butt hit the steps.

'So you probably realised that Greg doesn't exactly look like the boys,' Caitlyn began before stopping abruptly after hearing Denise and Greg moving about downstairs, 'we'll finish this in our room – Mum still gets a bit upset over what happened.'

I stood up from the steps and followed Caitlyn up the remainder of the staircase and as I turned to continue into the hallway I noticed a picture of a lightly tanned man in an Army uniform up against the wall in a silver frame.

Deciding that now would probably not be the best time to ask Caitlyn who the man was, I silently followed her to a bright orange door, 'Mum's making the boys bring up your bed later today so if you want to rest or something then you'll have to settle for my bed, sorry,' Caitlyn explained before opening the door to reveal a white room that was filled with objects that were so bright and colourful it would have made a bag full of skittles feel jealous.

'Wow,' I gasped as I made a slow circle so that I could get a full view of the room and all of its colourfulness.

'It's a bit..._full_ but I like it,' Caitlyn said as she walked over to her wooden bed and plopped herself down onto her black and white quilt, 'anyway I should probably finish the story so you can get some rest.'

'I'm not _that _ti-red,' I tried to say but my body showed my lie as a yawn forced itself out of my mouth.

'Ah-huh, sure; I'll act like I believe you,' she laughed before patting the space next to her on her bed, 'come relax as I divulge to you the Grey story.''

'You sure you don't mind me sitting on your bed?' I asked as I drummed my fingers against the wooden frame.

'Mitch, sit, this ain't some fancy mansion; you're allowed to chill out,' Caitlyn said as I sat down on her bed with my back against the end of the bed, 'you can put your feet up too, doofus.'

With an embarrassed smile I raised my jean clad legs and crossed them beneath myself as I pulled my hair into a ponytail, 'sorry, I guess I'm a bit of a princess when it comes to some things.'

'I think every girl has some princess in them – if not then I'd be worried about them,' Caitlyn said with a giggle as she brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, ' so what I'm about to tell you, you can't talk to the boys about unless they tell you, okay?'

'Of course, Caitlyn,' I swore before smiling as the sound of Christmas music playing from downstairs echoed throughout the double story house.

'Alright, so like I was saying obviously you've noticed how Greg and the boys don't look alike and that's because Greg isn't actually any of their birth fathers,' she began as she started twirling one of her curly locks around her index finger, 'their biological dad passed away when Nate and I were about five; he was a marine and according to Denni he was killed in battle. We've all questioned her on where he was killed, who he was fighting against – _everything_, but she always gets so upset that we end up getting too distracted with comforting her to make any further enquires.'

'Wow, that must have been horrible for them,' I said and Caitlyn gave a few small nods, 'but that doesn't really explain why Shane turned into who he is.'

'Who he _was_, you mean.'

'No, he's still a jerk.'

'Mitchie, this is _nothing_ compared to what he was – I mean did you see him today? He actually hugged me, he was _nice_ to everyone, he joked around with his brothers and he was able to go through an actual conversation without cussing or slamming a door. In this household, how Shane was acting before is a miracle.'

'I – I didn't know it was that bad,' I admitted quietly; feeling guilt over what his family would have been put through.

'It was, but as to why he turned into that _thing_,' she said; spitting that particular word out of her mouth as if it had been some kind of vile medicine, 'is something none of us know. Shane's never really had the decency to sit down and talk with us about what changed within the last six years but if today's any indication of the new Shane then we might finally get an explanation.'

'Wow...wh-what about you? I've noticed you're like part of the family; where's...your parents?' I asked cautiously, not wanting to upset Caitlyn too much.

'That's another story for another day,' she said with a bitter laugh as something thudded against her bedroom door, 'what about you? What's your story?'

'I think that can wait for another day too,' I laughed as a disgruntled groan came from the other side of the door.

'Sounds like a plan – oh and I should probably warn you that we'll probably be bunking with the boys little cousins,' Caitlyn added with a happy smile.

'How many are going to be in here?' I asked; slightly apprehensive about the idea of having the room filled with little, crying girls as another thud sounded against her wooden door.

'Only three.'

'_Only_? How many normally? And how are they meant to fit?' I questioned as I took another look around the room to try and figure out how we were going to fit four more beds in the room.

'Haven't you ever heard of bunking up? And you should feel grateful about only having three of the girls, last year the_ entire_ family came and I had to sleep in the damn hallway,' she grumbled whilst a muffle cry came from outside.

'You mean we actually have to share beds with them?' I asked and instantly regretted how shocked I sounded.

'Yeah, I figured we could either stick the three of them in one bed and you and me share the other or I'd sleep with two and you can have Jenny as she's the youngest and won't take up as much room.'

_Oh gosh, I have to _share_ my bed? I've never shared a bed in my life – not even with Ella!_

Another bang came from the hallway and with a few muttered profanities, Caitlyn shoved herself off of the bed, walked over to the door and threw it open, 'you could've just opened the damn door,' she hissed at the three brothers who were currently struggling with the weight of the bed they were holding.

'You knew they were there?' I laughed as the Grey brothers shuffled their way into the room after turning the bed to fit it through the doorframe.

'Course I did,' Caitlyn said smugly as she closed the door and resumed her previous position on the bed.

'Why didn't you let them in then?'

'What is this, 20 Questions?' she joked before gesturing at the boys who were placing the bed down next to the large window seat, 'because I figured someone should punish them for all the cookies they snuck behind Mum's back.'

Confused, I turned around to find that all of the boys had puffed out cheeks proving that they had indeed stuffed their faces with the cookies that Denise had made. I laughed as they all tried to play off their crime with innocent smiles as my phone started ringing from my bag over near the door.

I quickly got off the bed, ran over to my bag and grabbed my phone out before inhaling a sharp breath at the number that was displayed on my screen. I fumbled with the keys on the phone as I declined the call before turning it off but within ten seconds someone else's phone started ringing.

Shane, who was in the middle of a bickering contest with Caitlyn, reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone but no sooner was it in his hand had the call ended. The same thing repeated with Jason and Nate and I both shared a worried look.

_No, it _can't_ be him. I changed my number. Nate was with me. This cannot be happening._

'Probably just a prank call,' Jason said; shrugging off the unusual situation, however Shane was not so quick to dismiss the subject.

'Hey Jase, can I have a look at your phone?' he asked before taking the phone from Jason and pressing random buttons on his keys.

I could feel my heart rate increase as his eyebrows furrow whilst he handed Jason's phone back to him, 'what's up?'

'It's kind of weird to have the same person call you twice, Mitchie who called you?' Shane questioned as he walked over to me as I was still crouching in front of my bag.

'Oh Ella,' I lied quickly with a smile, 'it's cheaper for me to call her back than to accept her call.'

'Huh...okay,' he said though it was obvious he did not believe me.

'God Shane, someone's watched too many cop shows,' Caitlyn laughed as she hoped off her bed to grab her own phone from her desk, 'it'd be weird if someone called _me_ right after you two but that hasn't happened so stop freaking.'

As if on cue, the sound of a new text message seemed to bounce off every wall in the room as we all turned to face Caitlyn expectantly though Nate's laughter broke the tension in the room.

'Chill guys, it's my phone,' he laughed as he pressed a couple keys on his phone but despite how good of a liar I knew he was; I noticed the sudden worry in his voice, 'it's just Dana.'

'Who's Dana?' Caitlyn asked as she threw her phone onto her bed; obviously jealous at the mention of a new person in Nate's life.

'Just a girl I met at the Christmas party, no big deal – hey Mitchie can you help me bring the rest of your bags upstairs?' Nate asked; the sudden change of topic causing me to worry even more than I was before.

'Nah, let her and Caity catch up; I'll come h-'

'_No!_ I mean...Mitchie's cool with helping me, right Mitch?' Nate asked in an attempt to cover up his outburst at Jason who was shocked by his younger brother's tone of voice.

'Uh...yeah...sure; I mean it's my stuff so it makes sense,' I said with a light chuckle as I stood up and exited the room; waiting at the top of the staircase for Nate to join me.

'You need to see this,' he said, shoving his phone into my hand whilst he and I descended the staircase.

'What's going on N-'

'Just read the message,' Nate urged and I slowly lowered my eyes to read the message displayed on his screen.

**We were willing to wait for her but let my girl know we'll be seeing each other again real soon...**

'N-Nate,' I stuttered as my body began to shake after I realised who the number belonged to.

'Hey, don't worry Mitchie; they're not going to get you,' he assured me before grabbing a hold of my body to stop me from falling as I missed a step on my way down.

'He'll find me, Nate, I think he already has,' I whispered as my body suddenly surrendered to the stress of what was going on as I collapsed into Nate's awaiting arms in a fit of tears and coughing.

I knew that within moments the entire Grey family plus Caitlyn would be joining us on the stairs, all worried about what was going on, but I could not care less as I knew my little fairytale would be over and done with any day now.


	10. Won't You Sing Me To Sleep

**_A/N: A little fluff chapter between Shane and Mitchie. There will be more to come soon._**

**_Disclaimer: please refer to previous chapter's disclaimers :)  
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'What happened?' I heard Denise shout as a stampeded of footsteps came thundering down from what I assumed was Caitlyn's and my room.

'Nothing, she's just tired,' Nate quickly assured everyone as his grip around my back tightened whilst I attempted to hide myself behind my hair and his t-shirt.

'What the hell? Mitchie are you alright?' Shane demanded and after a slow shake of my head there was a whispered exchange between the teenagers before I could feel Nate's hold on me slacking before someone else's arms wrapped around me, slowly moving me off of Nate's shirt and against a black V neck.

I didn't have to look up to know that it was Shane. I could tell it was him just by his distinct smell. Just by the way he held me – not too tight yet he made it clear that he wouldn't be letting me go any time soon.

'C'mon Mitch, we'll go get you some rest,' Shane said softly as he nudged me forward but upon having my shins hit the next step up I stumbled slightly though Shane easily settled me before swinging me up into his arms.

Despite my mind yelling at me and warning that I was only encouraging Shane's little "love game", I found myself pushing myself closer to Shane's chest as my body continued to shake.

'Almost there, don't worry, we're almost there,' Shane repeatedly whispered and I was grateful that my body was slowly starting to return to normal.

Within seconds we came to a stop before a door creaked open and we began to move once again. This didn't last very long as I was soon placed down onto a soft mattress and I quickly dug my way under the covers before proceeding to drag them over my head, all the while working on trying to calm myself down.

'What are you doing?' Shane asked and I could hear the amusement in his voice over my actions.

'I'm alright, I just need some sleep,' I assured him as I curled onto my side and I actually thought he would leave me alone but Shane proved me wrong as the bed suddenly dipped down next to me, letting me know that he was now sitting on my bed. 'Honestly Shane, thank you but you can leave – I'm fine.'

'I'm not leaving you, Mitchie, you can't get rid of me that easily – I thought you knew that by now,' Shane said and I managed a small smile before the text message from William flashed through my mind and the sudden realisation that when he does come to "retrieve" me, he won't take any nonsense from anyone that tries to stand up for me.

The next thing I knew I could suddenly imagine Nate getting jumped by William. The image quickly changed to Jason. Then Caitlyn. Finally, I saw Shane being beat up by a drunken William and before I knew it I had started crying again.

'Shit,' I heard Shane curse under his breath as he attempted to pull the blanket from my grip though I was not about to give up that easily.

'Seriously Shane, just leave,' I pleaded as I tugged the blankets closer to my body.

'Not till I get to see your face – I'm not going anywhere till you've stopped crying,' He said, his famous stubbornness showing as he managed to pull the side of the blanket out from under the blanket then proceeded to worm his way under the blanket until he was laying under the warm sheet with me.

'You happy?' I asked miserably as viciously wiped at my cheeks in an attempt to remove all the tear drops that I could now feel drying against my skin.

'Furtherest thing from it,' Shane answered as he propped himself up on his left elbow slightly before reaching out to brush a few stray tears from my cheek. 'So, do you want to talk about it?'

'I'm hiding under my blanket, Shane...what do you think?' I said sarcastically as I flipped over onto my back and gave a frustrated groan, 'I couldn't even tell you if I wanted to.'

'That bad, huh?'

'Must I repeat that I am hiding under a blanket once again?' I whined as I swung my arms over my face to further hide myself from everyone.

'Come here,' Shane said as I felt one of his arms squeeze between me and the mattress whilst the other latched on top of me before pulling me over towards him; his arms staying tightly wrapped around me as I rested my head against his arm.

_Mitchie, don't do this to yourself. You can't fall for him. You know as well as anyone that once you're free falling, you can't stop until you hit the ground. Stay in the plane. It's safer._

'Shane, I'm fine y'know?' I said quietly as he began to gently brush my fringe away from my forehead.

'See, you keep saying that...but you haven't stopped crying yet,' he replied in the same soft voice.

'W-Why do you even bother?' I managed to mumble after a couple, comfortable, moments of silence.

'Bother with what?' Shane asked and I could suddenly feel my cheeks start to heat up at what I was about to ask.

'With me. I mean I know you've got this sick fascination with me and that you're probably just trying to prove that you can get any girl you want but -'

'_It seems like you've hit it on the nail. So why the hell did you even ask the question if you knew the answer?' he demanded and I tried my best to sink into the tan leather seat I was sitting in. _

'_I-I was just wondering. I was just thinking that -'_

'_That what? We'd get married and live happily ever after?' he said mockingly; each of his words hitting me likes a thousand little daggers. 'Get real, Michelle. This ain't some Disney shit, this is real life and the only thing that's going to change once we're married is the fact that I get to fuck you whenever the hell I want without your Dad sueing me.'_

'Mitchie is that what you really think?' he asked, cutting into my ramble and I gave an unsure shrug of my shoulders as my answer. 'Look Mitch, I know you think I'm a slut -'

'I never said anything like that,' I quickly blurted out as I raised my head so that I could look him in the eye in hopes that he would know I meant it.

_Sure, he's been with a bunch of girls but I would never go as far as to call him a slut._

'Shuddup for a moment would you,' Shane said though his words didn't offend me, rather they made me smile at how frustrated he was getting, 'this kind of stuff is hard enough to say out loud let alone when you're laying next to me and all I want to do is to bash the crap out of whoever made you cry then come back here and kiss you senseless.'

At this I could not help but blush as I looked away from Shane and down at my fingers which were playing out a tune against his arm, which was still resting across my stomach, as if it was a piano and upon seeing this stopped and mumbled an apology under my breath.

'Don't apologise for that – it's one of the things I like about you,' he admitted with a soft chuckle at my confused glance, 'the fact that no matter what you're doing there's always some part of you that is caught up in the music. Your fingers drum, your foot taps, you smack your lips to the beat – hell I lost count of the amount of times you've managed to play out some kind of beat just with your hands against your leg. I'll admit that when I first met you I just really wanted to have sex with this hot girl who had the guts to pull me up for anything and everything.

'But then I got to know you better and even though I still want to have sex with you, I felt like I had to get to know you better. Find out your quirks, your bad habits – _anything_ that would make me closer to you. I guess it became more important to get closer to you through your personality and memories and stuff than it did to get closer to you physically. And it kills me to know you're hurting and that you're hiding something from me but I'm not about to pressure you into telling me because I know that everyone's got something in their past they'd like to keep there. I just...I hate seeing you hurt. It feels like I'm the one hurting – which is completely ridiculous when you think about it. And you're always on my mind, like, I'm not even exaggerating. I've gotten through two song books already because of you. I can't get you off my mind no matter what I do. It's almost as if your big brown eyes have got some kind of hold on me. You're always there, even if it's the smallest corner of my mind, you're there,' he finished; his cheeks flushing as he watched me for my reaction though I was trying my hardest to stay emotionless.

'Are you done?' I asked calmly though if he had of taken his eyes off me he would have seen how I felt by just watching my hands nervously fidget on my stomach.

'Yes?' Shane said uncertainly as a smile crept onto my lips.

Without another word or thought I snaked my arms around his neck and pulled myself up slightly before pressing my lips gently against his. My head began to scream at me for kissing Shane whilst I was engaged to William but I was able to push that nagging voice to the back of my mind as I felt Shane smile against my lips before wrapping his arms tighter around my back, pulling me even closer to him than I was before.

It was not a long kiss, nor was it that passionate, but it showed how much his words had meant to me and with his forehead resting against mine, I felt safe to assume that he understood what I was trying to say.

'That was a dare wasn't it?' he breathed and I giggled as his minty breath tickled my nose.

'Nope.'

'But it was; I'm going to have to kill Nate. He has got to stop doing this to me -'

'Shane, no one dared me to kiss you,' I insisted though he merely shook his head which caused a few strands of his raven hair to fall down in front of his eyes.

'But -'

'_Shane_,' I said forcibly as I tugged on some of his hair at the nape of his neck to add emphasis to what I was about to say, 'I _wanted_ to kiss you. There was no dare.'

'You sure?' Shane asked and with a groan I dropped my head back against the pillow though before I even had a chance to roll my eyes at Shane, he had already dove down and started kissing my exposed neck.

I had to try my hardest not to moan when he began sucking my neck as the pleasure was beginning to become too much to handle as I gripped his hair in between my fingers though it was only when he bit down against my skin that I shoved Shane away as memories started flooding back and a speed I was not prepared for.

'We-we can't do this,' I stuttered as I removed the sheet from over our heads and pushed my hair behind my ears with shaking fingers.

'Sorry, I didn't know...you have no idea what...I'm sorry,' Shane rambled as tears began to build up in my eyes, so I quickly ducked my head in an attempt to hide my tears from him.

'It's f-f-fine, I shouldn't...sorry,' I apologised whilst I ran a frustrated hand through my hair as it suddenly felt like the hand that was rubbing my arm soothingly was William's rather than Shane's.

'Hey, Mitch, we don't have to...you know...I wasn't getting at any of that,' he said honestly and I raised my head with a sad smile.

'I know; it wasn't that it's just...' I trailed off as tried to figure out whether or not it was worth telling Shane all my little secrets.

'What? You can tell me anything,' Shane prodded as I heard footsteps moving about in the hallway.

'I should get some sleep, I always get really tired and emotional after flights,' I explained; glad that I only partly lied as flights did drain me though that was not what I was going to tell Shane.

'Oh, sure,' he said with a light chuckle that did not sound quite right as he hoped off the bed only long enough to tuck me under the sheets properly.

'I'm not a child, Shane,' I reminded him as he then proceeded to pull up the doona to keep me warm and push it under my arms so that I was nice and snug.

'I just want you to have a nice rest,' Shane shot back with a smile whilst I rolled over to my side so that I was still facing him.

'Alright, I'll tr -' I broke off with a small yawn as I muzzled my head further into the pillow before looking up at Shane; trying my hardest not to let my heavy eyelids close just yet, 'hey Shane?'

'Yeah?' he replied; leaning in to hear me better as my voice was getting harder to hear as sleep slowly took a hold of me.

'When it comes to families,' I began as I brought my knees up under the blankets so that was practically lying in fetal position, 'mine wins the trophy for being screwed up. What you've got here? You could do _a lot_ worse. Everyone under this roof loves you so much; especially Greg. You're lucky.'

Through hazy eyes I could see his eyebrows furrow before a smile tugged at the right corner of his mouth, 'get some sleep, love. You're going to need to be well rested before you meet the cousins,' Shane informed me with a chuckle.

'Alright...I'll sleep,' I said in agreement; my eyes finally dropping shut as I felt the mattress shift, telling me that Shane had gotten off the bed.

It was only after receiving a soft kiss on the top of my head that I finally succumbed to sleep. I was still terrified of the idea that William could rock up at the Grey's front door at any second though knowing that the few moments I do get to spend with the Grey family would be special and memorable made all of this drama worth the nightmares.


End file.
